Saturday, April 14, 2007

Thieving Magpie


Well, Easter has come and gone. And so too have the blackbird's eggs (sigh), again. Yesterday I was unhappy witness to the magpie winging away with the makings of a Turdus merula omelette in it's beak. The same thing happened last year. And then today it was clinging to the front of the tit box - flapping and pecking unsuccessfully at the entrance. It's a wonder we have any other birds in the garden. There are sound clips on the two links and if you compare and contrast I think you'll agree with me as to which one makes the better neighbour. The magpie's diet is made up of 'invertebrates, young birds and eggs, small mammals, fruits, seeds, berries and carrion.' So just about everything. In fact the medical term for a compulsive eating disorder (not necessarily of foodstuffs) - a pica - derives from Pica pica. They include slugs and snails on their menu though so they do have some merit for the gardener.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two rabbits with pants, and the rest without — brings back memories of an Eggs-hibit and a (fake) Globe and Mail front page story.

Misshathorn said...

Hi B
Yes, a few samples from my Edwardian Easter card collection. You just can't find crying, fighting and bloody-nosed bunnies on cards these days. This year while all of christendom was in church, Jesus was at the Augusta masters golf tournament - http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/

Anonymous said...

Ha ha, good link.

Anonymous said...

I wondered where he'd gone. Who knew he'd be hanging out with millionaires. It's so contrary to what we were taught.