What Do Magpies Eat?

14.09.2023 Grady A. Lowry 0 Comments

What should you feed magpies?

What do Magpies Eat – The RSPB Their main diet in summer is grassland invertebrates, such as beetles, flies, caterpillars, spiders, worms and leatherjackets. In winter, they eat more plant material, such as wild fruits, berries and grains, with household scraps and food scavenged from bird tables or chicken runs, pet foods etc.

They will eat carrion at all times and catch small mammals and birds.
Occasionally, magpies prey on larger animals such as young rabbits.
During the breeding season they will take eggs and young of other birds.
We don’t know exactly what proportion of the summer diet of urban and suburban magpies these comprise: estimates vary between 3 per cent and 38 per cent by weight, although most estimates are at the low end of this scale.

Studies of urban magpies in Manchester showed a summer diet mostly of invertebrates with some field voles and house sparrows. When food is abundant, magpies hoard the surplus to eat later. They make a small hole in the ground with their beak, place the food in it and cover it with grass, a stone or a leaf.

How do you make friends with magpies?

Befriending a magpie – If you have magpies around your home or neighbourhood that you would like to befriend, the first step is to let them see your face from a distance, trying to make eye contact with the bird. Gisela says you could also try and temp them with a little to show you aren’t a threat.

Do magpies eat mice?

In winter, they mostly feed on berries, plants and seeds. In the summer, they catch and eat beetles, flies, caterpillars, spiders and worms. Magpies sometimes eat other small animals, like mice and birds.

Can I feed magpies dry cat food?

An ode to our beloved magpies – ABC Radio National

No matter how often we are warned, Australians are guilty of slipping the warbling magpies in our backyards bread, crusts, processed meat or even cake crumbs.
One expert on urban ecology and wildlife management says if people can’t resist feeding birds, the best option for the magpie can be found in their pets’ food bowl.
“They suffer from high cholesterol if fed too much processed stuff,” says Associate Professor Darryl Jones, deputy director of Environmental Futures Centre at Griffith University.
“If you have to feed them, the best things are dry and wet cat and dog food.”
Nature provides the best food source of course, but our love of green pastures and manicured lawns has proven to be a win for the birds.

“Magpies have adapted to the presence of people in large numbers and in cities have access to a lot of lawn which is fertilized and offers a guarantee food source. It’s the same with improved grasslands on farms,” he said. His advice on what not to feed the magpie comes as bird week is celebrated across Australia.

The magpie is found in all parts of Australia except the far tropical north and in the Northern Territory.
Dr Jones, who is a behavioural ecologist, says it has the most complex song of any of our native songbirds.
It’s the most intricate that has ever been noted.
What it means is a complete mystery.and it changes.

The warble in one place is completely different a few valleys away and it carries on from father to son and goes through the generations.but with an evolution as well,” Dr Jones said.

“The warble is warning others in the species to keep away and what’s unusual with these territorial birds, guarding their patch, is they are on alert every day, defending their area against other magpie intruders.
“(The warble) could be almost be regarded as a language.”
Not only is the magpie an iconic Australian bird, but all the world’s passerines (songbirds) evolved in the Australian landscape, making their way eventually around the globe.
Dr Jones acknowledges that regardless of how often people are warned against feeding these feathered friends, Australians won’t stop.
Birdlife Australia is running an online poll until the end of the month to determine Australia’s favourite bird and has a list of 52 to choose from.
Currently, the front runner is the Superb Fairy-Wren which is 50 votes ahead of the magpie.
To vote for your favourite bird you can go to
Associate Professor Darryl Jones, deputy director of Environmental Futures Centre, at Griffith University
Producer: Keiren McLeonard

: An ode to our beloved magpies – ABC Radio National

Can magpies remember faces?

Why do they swoop? – Just like us, they are using their body language – beak clapping, whooshing above your head and screeching – to warn other birds, animals and humans to keep away from their eggs or newly-hatched chicks. Females will typically lay between three and five eggs and will sit on them for three weeks until they hatch.As magpies mostly breed between August and October it’s during these months that some males defend their nests from the time the eggs are laid until the young birds are fledged.

Would a magpie eat a rat?

Not a rat but I saw two magpies attacking a rabbit, the rabbit escaped down its rabbit hole. That is interesting. Seeing Magpies feeding on carrion is common enough, but I didn’t realise they were prepared to attack a live mammal. They will take on live prey if they think the prey item is weak enough – they are not efficient killers – the same for all corvids but they can be very determined Cin J I’ve seen magpies viciously attack domestic cats in our garden, a couple of years back, but that time, they had young, so it would be defending the family.

I’ve seen, and have somewhere, footage of a wood pigeon attacking another, again, quite viciously, so it isn’t just carrion birds, it can be almost any.
The link below takes you to the trailcam footage, if you’re interested.
Https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/50532253238/in/album-72157716336194373/ Mike Flickr Peak Rambler I think magpies and other members of the corvid family are clever opportunists and will seek out live prey especially if they look vulnerable; I have seen a magpie attack a rat which looked ill, also saw one take an adult Great Tit when it stunned itself after hitting a window and seen Magpies attack their own species which was more likely to be over food source or territory.

_ Regards, Hazel

How do you say hello to a magpie?

“Six for hell, Seven for the devil, his own self.” – The evilness of magpies is not just limited only to religious superstitions and the bird is also associated with the devil and its pied plumage associated with evil and bad fortune. Magpies are also known for stealing shiny objects (like jewellery) and can deceive others, therefore, the attribution of being evil.

Some of the superstitions revolve around magpies’ eating habit: they are omnivorous and eat plants, seeds and dead animals.
Due to this habit of eating dead animals, the bird is considered to have some devil’s blood and is associated with death as well.
To avoid all the bad luck, negativity and ill-omen after meeting a magpie, people have created or found various solutions.

They believe the magpie will never inject any sort of bad luck if the person keeps the bird happy or shows utter respect. People are told that he/she should salute or wave at a magpie to show respect. Some also believe that greeting the bird also helps to fend off bad luck.

The superstitions are considered so serious that some people wink when they see a single magpie to believe that they saw two magpies.
Another alternative is to flap your arms to imitate the second magpie.
This tradition of respecting magpies is one which has been followed for centuries in an effort to ward off bad luck.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ

How do you know if a magpie likes you?

Why become friends? – Magpies that actively form friendships with people make this investment (from their point of view) for good reason. Properties suitable for magpies are hard to come by and the competition is fierce. Most magpies will not secure a territory – let alone breed – until they are at least five years old.

In fact, only about 14% of adult magpies ever succeed in breeding.
And based on extensive magpie population research conducted by R.
Carrick in the 1970s, even if they breed successfully every single year, they may successfully raise only seven to eleven chicks to adulthood and breeding in a lifetime.

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There is a lot at stake with every magpie clutch. Read more: Bird-brained and brilliant: Australia’s avians are smarter than you think The difference between simply not swooping someone and a real friendship manifests in several ways. When magpies have formed an attachment they will often show their trust, for example, by formally introducing their offspring.

They may allow their chicks to play near people, not fly away when a resident human is approaching, and actually approach or roost near a human.
In rare cases, they may even join in human activity.
For example, magpies have helped me garden by walking in parallel to my weeding activity and displacing soil as I did.

One magpie always perched on my kitchen window sill, looking in and watching my every move. The curious magpie following the author’s movements in her home (Photo by G.Kaplan no reuse) On one extraordinary occasion, an adult female magpie gingerly entered my house on foot, and hopped over to my desk where I was sitting. She watched me type on the keyboard and even looked at the screen.

I had to get up to take a phone call and when I returned, the magpie had taken up a position at my keyboard, pecked the keys gently and then looked at the “results” on screen. The bird was curious about everything I did. She also wanted to play with me and found my shoelaces particularly attractive, pulling them and then running away a little only to return for another go.

Importantly, it was the bird (not hand-raised but a free-living adult female) that had begun to take the initiative and had chosen to socially interact and such behaviour, as research has shown particularly in primates, is affiliative and part of the basis of social bonds and friendships.

How intelligent are magpies?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eurasian magpie Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene – Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓

Nominate subspecies in Kaliningrad, Russia
Conservation status
Least Concern ( IUCN 3.1 )
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Corvidae
Genus:	Pica
Species:	P. pica
Binomial name
Pica pica ( Linnaeus, 1758 )
Subspecies
See text

Global range of the Eurasian magpie and other Afro-Eurasian Pica species. Light blue: Pica pica melanotos Light green: Pica pica pica Dark green: Pica pica fennorum Yellow: Pica pica bactriana Magenta: Pica pica leucoptera Dark blue: Pica pica camtschatica Now treated as separate species: Orange: Maghreb magpie ( Pica mauritanica ) Dark grey: Arabian Magpie ( Pica asirensis ) Light red: Black-rumped magpie ( Pica bottanensis ) Dark red: Oriental magpie ( Pica serica )
Synonyms
Corvus pica Linnaeus, 1758

The Eurasian magpie or common magpie ( Pica pica ) is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent, It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) designated magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic radiation of ” monochrome ” magpies.

In Europe, “magpie” is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie: the only other magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie ( Cyanopica cooki ), which is limited to the Iberian Peninsula,
Despite having a shared name and close appearance, it is not closely related to the Australian Magpie,

The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals. The expansion of its nidopallium is approximately the same in its relative size as the brain of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans,

Do magpies like carrots?

Some of the best foods for gut-loading insects include fresh fruits and vegetables, such as leafy greens, carrots, and sweet potatoes. These foods are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that will help support the overall health of the insects and the magpies that consume them.

What enemies do magpies have?

21 Facts on Magpie – Tweetapedia – Living with Birds

Magpie numbers in Britain and Ireland have quadrupled in the last 35 years.The increase has been particularly noticeable in suburban areas.During the winter the magpie’s diet is largely vegetarian, and in the summer predominately ground invertebrates. Only during the spring, when feeding its young, does it become a major predator, raiding the nests of songbirds for eggs and young.Opinions differ widely on the impact of magpies on nesting birds. Most studies suggest that their impact is minimal, but where magpies have been removed, breeding success of songbirds has improved.One of the explanations for the magpie’s booming population is thought to be the amount of carrion from road kills available today, providing a year-round food source.Magpies can be caught legally in Larsen traps, a live-capture trap that uses a decoy bird to lure others into the trap. Many thousands are caught and killed in this way every year.A male magpie, attracted to a female decoy, will attempt to court and mate with her unless his mate accompanies him, in which case their joint response is aggressive.Magpies have always been surrounded by superstition, and there are many versions of the poem that begins: One for sorrow, two for joy. There was an old rural tradition of raising one’s hat to a magpie; now few people wear hats, the tradition has largely died out.A magpie looks much bigger than it is: the tail makes up half the bird’s length. Its average weight is only about half that of a wood pigeon’s.They can be found throughout almost all of mainland Europe, from southern Spain and Greece north to Lapland, but are absent from many offshore islands, including Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearics and Iceland.Pairs usually remain within their territories, but non-breeding birds wander more widely in small gangs or bands.They are non-migratory, and it’s rare for one to ever travel more than 10km from where it was hatched.Though most nests are built in trees, where there are no suitable trees they will build on the ground.A typical nest incorporates a roof, and may have two entrances, but some populations build open nests.Long-eared owls often adopt old magpie nests.The date of the first egg being laid is largely the same throughout Europe, with the peak period mid to late April.In southern Spain great spotted cuckoos often lay their eggs in magpie nests.In Britain magpies have relatively few enemies apart from man, but in some parts of Europe they are the favourite prey of goshawks.Communal winter roosts may hold as many as 200 birds.The roosting birds have usually departed before sunrise.

: 21 Facts on Magpie – Tweetapedia – Living with Birds

Can you feed magpies oats?

Raw meat, cheese and bread off the menu –

Brisbane bird and exotic animal vet Deborah Monks said raw meat and mince, although popular, did the most damage to magpie health.
“I wouldn’t recommend raw mince on its own because it doesn’t have enough calcium in it,” she said.
Dr Monks said people who fed adult magpies raw meat wouldn’t see the effects it had on their young in the nest, but veterinarians regularly saw birds with weak and disfigured bones.

“We certainly see babies where the parents have been supplemented with mince, their bones are soft and break,” she explained. “If you have to feed mince, then you have to supplement with calcium powder to try to offset some of the deficiencies in it.” Dr Monks says raw meat and mince can lead to calcium deficiencies in young magpies. ( Flickr: Melanie Cook )

Cheese and bread should be off limits to magpies too, she said.
“I would say no to dairy products, and if you have to feed other treats a teeny-tiny amount of oats and maybe a teeny-tiny amount of nuts in miniscule proportions.
“I wouldn’t recommend bread because it’s a carbohydrate and it’s not really what they’re designed to eat in the wild.”

Is it OK to feed bread to magpies?

Is it alright to feed magpies in your garden? – While it may be tempting to throw your bread scraps to the magpies in your garden, this is generally a bad idea. Bread lacks nutrients and can be harmful to a magpie’s delicate stomach. You may also want to throw them meat scraps, but this is also a bit of a bad option.

Raw meat can expose them to parasites, and mince contains large amounts of phosphate.
When it comes to what to feed magpies at home, it’s best to interfere with their natural diet as little as possible.
As such, if you’d really like to give the magpies a treat, try collecting bugs and worms from your garden to feed them, or purchase crickets from your local pet store.

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One way to feed magpies and complete a fun little project at the same time is by building a foraging tray. This can be filled with a variety of different natural debris, along with bugs for the birds to dig out.

Can magpies eat dry oats?

Can birds eat porridge oats? – Yes, birds can eat porridge oats, but they need to be dry – cooked (or wet) and they will stick to and set around birds’ beaks. Birds can also enjoy other dry breakfast cereals, but, as with bread, these shouldn’t be your first option because they will fill up birds’ stomachs like bread does, and provide little nutrition in return.

Do magpies have empathy?

Magpies ‘feel grief and hold funerals’

Magpies feel grief and even hold funeral-type gatherings for their fallen friends and lay grass “wreaths” beside their bodies, an animal behaviour expert has claimed.
Magpies feel grief and even hold funeral-type gatherings for their fallen friends and lay grass “wreaths” beside their bodies, an animal behaviour expert has claimed.
Dr Bekoff, of the University of Colorado, said these rituals prove that magpies, usually seen as an aggressive predator, also have a compassionate side.
The discovery raises the debate about whether emotions are solely a human trait or whether they can be found in all animals.
Previous studies have suggested that gorillas also mourn their dead while rats have empathy and cats form friendships.
Dr Bekoff said he studied four magpies alongside a magpie corpse and recorded their behaviour.

“One approached the corpse, gently pecked at it, just as an elephant would nose the carcase of another elephant, and stepped back. Another magpie did the same thing, ” he said. “Next, one of the magpies flew off, brought back some grass and laid it by the corpse. Another magpie did the same. Then all four stood vigil for a few seconds and one by one flew off.”

After publishing an account of the funeral he received emails from people who had seen the same ritual in magpies, ravens and crows.
“We can’t know what they were actually thinking or feeling, but reading their action there’s no reason not to believe these birds were saying a magpie farewell to their friend,” he wrote in the journal Emotion, Space and Society.
Those who see emotions in animals have been accused of anthropomorphism – the attribution of human characteristics to animals.
However, Dr Bekoff said emotions evolved in humans and animals because they improve the chances of survival.
“It’s bad biology to argue against the existence of animal emotions,” he said.

He also claims to have seen emotions in elephants. While watching a herd in Kenya he noticed an injured cow elephant who was only able to walk slowly.

“Despite her disability the rest of the herd walked for a while, stopped to look around and then waited for her to catch up.
“The only obvious conclusion we could see is the other elephants cared and so they adjusted their behaviour,” said Dr Bekoff.
21 Oct 2009 – Daily Telegraph

: Magpies ‘feel grief and hold funerals’

Do magpies talk to people?

Communication – A loud musical flute-like song, often performed as a duet or by groups. An uncommon alternative name for the Australian Magpie is Flute Bird. The Australian magpie produces a loud musical flute-like song, often performed as a duet or by groups.

An uncommon alternative name for the Australian Magpie is Flute Bird.
The magpie can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as other animal calls, such as those of dogs and horses.
Magpies have also been noted to mimic human speech, when living in close proximity to humans.

When alone, a magpie will make a quiet, musical warbling noise, which does not carry for long distances. Pairs of magpies often take up a loud musical calling, known as carrolling, which they use to announce or defend their territory. Fledgling and juvenile magpies emit a repeated, short high-pitched begging call.

How long can a magpie remember you?

Magpies Remember Your Face For Up TO 5 Years & We Are NOT Okay

It’s magpie season and we’re all wildly trying to avoid any area where we may get swooped by the vicious bird that is the aggressive / unfriendly / over-protective magpie.
As if they weren’t scary enough, almost clawing peoples eyes out and swooping on unsuspecting walkers with earphones in, but it turns out these sneaky bastards actually remember what we look like and where we live
Umm okay so I’m NOT okay with this.

Mamamia spoke to behavioural ecologist Dr Darryl Jones, who revealed, ” know everyone, they watch kids grow up. When they decide to start treating that person as a threat, they know where they live. They can victimise someone easily.”

According to all the info, magpies will follow us and find out where we live, no matter what route we take home.
Also, they can remember a face for up t five years
Basically, you’re going to have a stalker for five years, waiting to swoop you once swooping season comes ‘round.

Listen, I used to love them – my Grandma used to hand feed a whole family of them that always came up to her front door, for years. They’d even trot on into the house.

But now I feel like they may have been the exception to the rule
Never leaving the house again.
Actually, maybe it’s time to move.
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Will a magpie eat a chicken?

In the UK, we have the well-known Eurasian magpie. This is a very distinctive black and white bird that comes from the Corvidae family. Unfortunately, they can be trouble for poultry keepers. Magpies will steal chicken’s eggs and even kill chicks and young birds if they can get to them.

Magpies can kill chicks and young birds, but magpies can steal or eat eggs from nest boxes inside chicken houses as well when you’re not around.
The magpie is smart; in fact, they are considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world and the only non-mammal to be able to recognise itself in a mirror, so no wonder they have figured out how to get a nutritious meal our of our nest boxes! Magpies also have amazing eyesight.

If you see a magpie in the garden and approach the window, they will normally see you and fly off, so this makes them hard to shoot if you have one stealing your eggs and are that way inclined. Between a couple of magpies feeding their young, you can lose anything up to a dozen eggs per day, as I found out first-hand myself.

At first, I thought there had been a fall in the number of eggs my hens were laying, and I couldn’t really explain it. It was May when my hens were usually producing lots of eggs. However, it soon became clear that something was taking eggs from the nest boxes. I found some empty eggshells in the fields next to my chicken runs, and then I found a broken egg in the coop.

I had purchased a Trail Camera on Amazon for recording some of the local wildlife, including foxes that were coming up to the fence of my poultry run during the night, so I set this up inside a chicken coop to catch the culprit in the act! As you can see in the first few seconds, our black and white thief was popping into the coop and stealing bantam sized chicken eggs, carrying them out.

Will magpies eat meat?

What do they eat? – Magpies feed on small insects and animals that live on, or just under, the surface of the ground. A favourite is the scarab beetle, which is a major pest of garden lawns. Magpies will also eat frogs, small lizards, meat scraps and grain.

Magpies are one of Australia’s most highly regarded songbirds. They have a wide variety of calls, many of which are complex, and their pitch may vary over up to 4 octaves. The magpie can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as other animal calls, such as those of dogs and horses.

Magpies have also been noted to mimic human speech when living in close proximity to humans. When alone, a magpie will make a quiet, musical warbling noise which does not carry for long distances. Pairs of magpies often take up a loud musical calling, known as carolling, which they use to announce or defend their territory.

Fledgling and juvenile magpies emit a repeated, short, high-pitched begging call. When they feel threatened, magpies will emit several high-pitched alarm calls. Being territorial birds, up to 10 magpies will sometimes group together in a ‘tribe’ to defend their home. However, most territories are ‘owned’ by a male and female pair.

A territory will have sufficiently reliable feeding and watering areas, and tall trees for shelter and nesting. Usually, there are fewer males than females in a group. Young magpies and less successful mature birds band together in large flocks of up to several hundred birds.

The areas that these birds live in are unsuitable as breeding territories because they lack permanent water or adequate food supplies. The flock must move from place to place in search of water. Individual birds in the flock will only breed and nest if they can replace a bird in a breeding territory. Magpies breed in their own territory, which they defend against other magpies.

Nesting takes place between August and October. The female usually does all the work:

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selecting the nest site building the nest incubating the eggs (between one and 6 eggs will be incubated for around 3 weeks) feeding the young – once hatched, the young are fed in the nest for about 4 weeks.

Within 2 years, the young magpies are forced by their parents to leave the territory. They join a group until they can gain a place in a territory as an adult breeding bird. However, many young birds die in the first months of life due to poor weather conditions, lack of food, road traffic hazards and natural predators. The experience of a magpie attack can be quite alarming, but it is usually only a warning. Only occasionally will a bird actually strike the intruder on the head with its beak or claws. If this unusual behaviour persists, there are ways of reducing the risk of physical injury to humans.

Do magpies eat dead mice?

Magpies often catch small animals and birds during spring. They also eat lots of carrion, dead, decaying flesh of animals, and scavenge food in the households.

Should you feed wild magpies?

Magpie – the full story – Australian Magpies ( Cracticus tibicen ) are very widespread and live in suburbs across Australia where there are trees and adjacent open areas such as lawns, golf courses and playing fields. For most of the year, Magpies are friendly and sociable, and may even venture into your house to beg for food.

But for four to six weeks a year during August to September, the male Magpie will defend his home vigorously. For the rest of the year, people are completely safe from swooping Magpies! Most Magpies don’t swoop people. Females don’t swoop at all because they are busy sitting on the eggs, and only 12% of male Magpies are aggressive.

These few males only swoop for six weeks while their chicks are in the nest. Understandably, these dads are just being protective of their babies. Male Magpies swoop people because they are protecting their chicks, but also because the person walking or riding by reminds the bird of someone who disturbed them in the past.

Magpies have very long memories.
There is a lot to love about these distinctive Australian birds.
Magpies are intelligent birds and full of character.
They learn quickly if they are in a safe environment and not likely to be threatened by humans.
When this happens, it is a real treat and joy to watch them and their antics in your backyard, and listen to their melodious calls.

Magpies build their nests in the outer branches of a tree, up to 15 m above the ground. It is constructed from sticks and twigs (occasionally wire), with a small interior bowl lined with grass and hair. The Magpies’ appetite for eating the insects in your lawn makes them great backyard buddies as they will help keep your bug numbers down naturally.

Walk quickly and carefully away from the area and avoid walking there when Magpies are nesting.
Make a temporary sign to warn other people.
Your Magpie is less likely to swoop if you look at it. Try to keep an eye on the Magpie, at the same time walking carefully away. Alternatively, you can draw or sew a pair of eyes onto the back of a hat, and wear it when walking through the area. You can also try wearing your sunglasses on the back of your head.
Wear a bicycle or skateboard helmet. Any sort of hat, even a hat made from an ice cream container or cardboard box, will help protect you.
Carry an open umbrella or a stick or small branch above your head but do not swing it at the Magpie, as this will only provoke it to attack.
If you are riding a bicycle when the Magpie swoops, get off the bicycle and wheel it quickly through the area. Your bicycle helmet will protect your head, and you can attach a tall red safety flag to your bicycle or hold a stick or branch as a deterrent.

Be a Backyard Buddy During winter, you may be lucky enough to hear a group of Magpies sing a short repetitive version of carolling just before dawn and at twilight after sundown. They only do this during winter and spring, so get out and enjoy the special performance. Magpies love:

Open woodlands with tall trees but no understory.
Big, old trees which give them somewhere safe to build their nests and sleep at night.
Hunting and eating insects.
Mimicking other birds’ calls, car alarms, dogs barking, phones ringing and even human voices.

But they don’t like:

People who come too close to their nests while they have eggs or chicks.
Garden chemicals and pesticides, which poison insects they eat and make them sick.
Fast cars with drivers that aren’t careful when going past bushy areas or parks.

Be a Buddy to Magpies Try to:

Install a bird bath so buddies like the Magpie can have a drink, bathe or play in the water. Keep this water fresh and clean and place your birdbath next to dense bushes so birds have somewhere nearby to hide if a predator appears.
Include mulch, leaf litter and rocks in your garden as this will attract lizards and insects which Magpies and other birds love to eat.

Avoid:

Feeding Magpies and other wild birds, as they are very good at finding their own food and can become sick if they eat old seed or processed foods like bread.
Riding your bike near a nesting Magpie as they are more likely to swoop bike riders than people walking. Vary your route for the next few weeks and the male Magpie will soon stop.

Don’t be surprised if Magpies:

Sunbake – young Magpies love to soak up the rays and often flop on the edge of open compost heaps, wriggling to form a nice indentation in which to lie and bask in the sun – and the warmth from the compost heap.
Swoop men or boys but not women or girls – scientists have found that Magpies mainly swoop males between 10 and 30 years old.
Come into your house through an open door or window looking for food- these are very smart, and cheeky, birds.

What human food can you feed magpies?

Raw meat, cheese and bread off the menu –

Brisbane bird and exotic animal vet Deborah Monks said raw meat and mince, although popular, did the most damage to magpie health.
“I wouldn’t recommend raw mince on its own because it doesn’t have enough calcium in it,” she said.
Dr Monks said people who fed adult magpies raw meat wouldn’t see the effects it had on their young in the nest, but veterinarians regularly saw birds with weak and disfigured bones.

Cheese and bread should be off limits to magpies too, she said.
“I would say no to dairy products, and if you have to feed other treats a teeny-tiny amount of oats and maybe a teeny-tiny amount of nuts in miniscule proportions.
“I wouldn’t recommend bread because it’s a carbohydrate and it’s not really what they’re designed to eat in the wild.”

Can magpies eat boiled eggs?

Can Birds Eat Hardboiled Eggs? – Hardboiled eggs can certainly be left out for the birds in your garden or fed to pet birds in moderation as part of their diet. If you have leftovers, there is no harm in leaving them outside for birds to consume; they will certainly appreciate the treat.

Grady A. Lowry