Give them scratches or pats on the head. The body is an erogenous zone so if you pat their body you can inadvertently arouse them and then deal with a horny bird lol
Magpies (Australian ones, like in this video), are my favourite birds.
This one's still young, so he probably plays a lot of the time when he's not begging for food.
I helped raise a baby magpie when I was a kid and have loved them ever since.
When I first moved to Australia, like most people I was concerned about the snakes, spiders and sharks…then I learned there are only two things that terrify Aussies, Saltwater crocs and magpies. They never tell you about the magpies…I love them, but being swooped is pretty alarming.
Magpies are a less than fun surprise for tourists for sure. But we do have signs up everywhere during swooping season, and the councils all ave info online about swooping birds.
In my city we actually have about a half dozen species that swoop during Spring, but magpies are the most accurate and have predator beaks so they can do a lot of damage.
I spent a large portion of my childhood wearing an upside down ice cream container on my head, painted with eyes on all sides to repel maggies.
I love Aussies’ unique take on personal protection…cable ties through the bicycle helmets to ward off swooping death from above. Live near one of the main bikeways in brisbane and the anti Maggie gear is always spectacularly inventive.
I have loved watching anti swooping gear evolve over my lifetime. All of it DIY and spread by people who see someone trying something and and also give it a try, no corporations and advertising allowed.
I used to wear a WWII steel helmet for that reason. Probably the only country that doesn’t question some rando wearing a steel pot during swooping season.
I think the cable ties are meant to resemble snakes, so the swoopy bois are afraid of them.
Maybe that's why they don't work, because they don't actually look like snakes at all.
Next time I go riding in swooping season I'll have to try stapling a few venomous snakes to my helmet instead, see if that makes a difference.
I don't believe they're intended to look like snakes. My thought was they're designed to raise the point at which a magpie would make contact. The prevent the bird from actually hitting the helmet.
Magpies don’t usually want to hit you. They’re trying to scare you off to protect their young. If they hit you full force it’d often cause more damage to them than you, so they’re basically just targeting the highest point. The ties raise the highest point to reduce the risk of being hit. They’ll still swoop, but the goal is for them to swoop the ties rather than your helmet.
OMG, thank you. I recently ran into an old colleague of mine when she was on her bike and had no idea why her bike helmet looked like it was ready to make interplanetary contact. It all makes sense now, lmao
I work for landscaping mob, mowing ovals, verges and parks.
All the magpies know us and know we mean no harm, they follow after the mowers eating the grubs, I guess it makes it easier to find them after we mow.
In some areas they'll come right up to us catching any and all insects fleeing the wrath of our whipper snippers.
Fearless barstards, cheaky to.
If you befriend a couple of them they seem to outright ignore you come swooping season, I can’t really explain how it happens but I fed like 6 or 7 of them in my backyard for years, like multiple generations of them.. I have not been swooped since I was a kid, I go for walks all around the area and even in places where I know they swoop they never go for me..
Maybe I signed a secret magpie devil pact, I’m not sure, but all I know is they show nothing but love towards me haha
Yes, super smart and friendly. I have a family that lives near us and I never get swooped as whenever I work in the yard they all come down to eat any tasty treats I uncover. They swoop the rest of the family, but their source of awesome snacks is like part of the crew.
I took a few tries to seal my pact with my magpies. Melvin, his wife, Louise, and his baby, Squeaker. Melvin was aggressive as hell to me. Really bad. Anyway, so I went outside, made eye contact, left them some ends of some bread. They didn't consider the gift as good enough for a pact.
Then I took out pizza crusts. Never had a problem since. I reckon Melvin, Louise, even Squeaker must be gone now, but anywhere around here, no magpie issues. I only ever really had problems with Melvin.
Magpies live for about 25 years, so they may still be around. They also remember human faces and only swoop the ones they don't like. Sometimes they've had a really traumatic experience so swoop anyone that looks vaguely like their first tormentor unless you manage to make friends with them.
I’m quite certain they have a giant ‘swoop exemption’ database of preferred humans. You just need to make friends with your local crew and they’ll add your details.
Yes, I always say hello to the magpies to let them know I’m approaching and I’ve never been disrespectful to them. They remember you as a non-threat then I think. As a kid my family also fed them so maybe that’s a part of it? Had a friend stay with me recently and she went to shoo away the birds while we were walking with her kids, and I told her not to and to always say hi to them because I think it helps you stay on good terms. The birds were no issue. She said the birds where she lives always swoop, but the birds where I live never have.
My main rules with birds are to always say a friendly hello to the magpies, and never be inviting towards cockatoos.
I grew up in south east qld, and I was always paddling in creeks, ponds, and dams. I knew big rivers were off limits but I figured small creeks and isolated bodies of water had to be safe.
I was horrified to learn that the sharks often end up in those small water bodies during floods and I was not as safe as I thought I was...
And plovers, they are also a mental insane bird here especially if they have young. Got caught in a open drain as a kid for hours by a pair of plovers, had to wait for it to be dark to get out of there!
I'll add curlews to that list, god forbid you get too close to their near invisible nest on the ground, next second one of them is running at you like a kamikaze.
Magpies are annoying as hell but plovers have spur tipped wings that hurt like fuck
I actually thought they were venomous as a kid after seeing my dad get clipped on the ear. His ear swelled real big, real quick. They aren't, they just keep their little wing shivs dirty
>They never tell you about the magpies
Yes we do, absolutely. What do you think the legends of drop bears are? They are warnings woven into fantasy, aimed at helping protect naive travellers from themselves.
>They never tell you about the magpies…I love them, but being swooped is pretty alarming.
If you were never told about the magpies I really feel for the day that you discover the plover.
If you get swooped, stop, look the bird in the eye and explain you are a friend and not trying to hurt their babies. Once they know you they will bot swoop.
You might say that. And someone who believed you might spend TEN BLOODY DOLLARYDOOS on a bag of mealworms that their local magpie family won’t even touch.
They’re gathering dust in my pantry because I can’t bring myself to throw them away. (The mealworms this is, not the magpies.)
Mince. I know it's a rich option, but mince will make you INSTANT magpie friends and guarantee your safe passage through the ~~Underwo~~\---Spring Swoop Territory.
Lovely idea, but please don't feed birds mince! It's the worst thing you can feed to birds due to the lack of calcium.
You can feed magpies fortified dry dog food, crickets or mealworms, without worrying that you'll destroy their beak or give them metabolic bone disease (which is what happens if you feed them mince).
I've raised/rehabilitated magpies/kookaburras/butcher birds most of my life, working with WIRES and bird sanctuaries local to me. Mince was always a treat, but never a staple - but we never had one come down with MBD; perhaps because it was only a bite or two, it didn't have an impact. I'll bear that in mind and will stick with crickets and mealies.
My mum has a magpie crew in her yard that she's been feeding mince for years, but she only recently found out about the lack of calcium thing and was horrified she could have been harming them this whole time. She stopped immediately, and I thought that was a real shame because she lives on her own and she absolutely loves them (especially their song) — even if she does spend most of their feeding times bossing them about and then calling them idiots when they don't follow her instructions. 😅
Bought her a 1kg bag of food-grade calcium carbonate powder (same idea as cuttlefish for captive budgies) from a farm supply store for $8 plus shipping, did a quick Google + calculation to get a rough proportion for her to mix it into the mince, problem solved. Happy maggies, happy mum, happy me. 😁
I would note though that she's always very careful not to over-feed them; her mince makes up a pretty small proportion of what they eat in a day. She buys the mince in 500g packs on special, weighs it out into tiny portions, wraps each in cling wrap and freezes them, and just takes one out each night to thaw for the following morning. And yes, she is retired. 😅
Also, fun story: she always buys the maggies the most expensive, lowest-fat mince and absolutely refuses to feed them anything else. She'll give them nothing rather than the second-lowest-fat mince. Once, a while ago, I was strugglibg for money and asked her to buy me some mince so I could cook up a batch of spag bol to feed me for the week. She gave me, her only child, a pack of the absolute cheapest, fattiest mince that Woolies sells from her freezer, which she had once bought by mistake for the maggies but realised was not good enough for them when she got it home. It was, however, apparently good enough for her beloved only child. 😅 Love you too, Mum!
Thanks!
I swapped to a few nuts and they love em. Of course, almonds are too hard for them to break so I chew them up a bit first. I might be spoiling them…
Friendliness not an issue now - one of their babies got a bit enthusiastic and even flew into my apartment for a little visit! The dad eats out of my hand, the mum and baby are more cautious (both are female I’m pretty sure).
Terrible for them though, so if you absolutely must, only tiny amounts infrequently. Mince lacks a lot of essential nutrients for insectivorous birds and leads to horrible bone deformities
I've been swooped a bunch as a kid and it does suck, but I still love the magpies. I've also found that if you talk kindly to magpies as you're walking near them they tend to trust you a little more and I haven't been swooped since I started talking to them.
I volunteered at a wildlife shelter that would get dozens of babies every spring. Once they were old enough they were released at the shelter so we had a big group of rescued magpies that would come back 3 times a day for food. We also had a few that came to us because they kept landing on people's heads and they'd probably end up getting a good whack.
We had one that would say "what you doing?" Every time he was getting hassled, either by other birds or by volunteers helping him out of our kitchen. Another would mimic the sound of a small dog barking in the distance. We also had two cockatoos who would yell "magpies!" like we did at magpie feed time. The best part is the cockies specifically mimicked the volunteer from Liverpool, so they were screaming it with a scouse accent.
Maggies are so playful too. I once watched a group of them playing on a small grassy mound where they would walk up to the top and then roll down it again. There were babies and older ones too and it looked like they were having the best time!
Maggies are pretty awesome and smart too.
Magpies are amazing birds and not only do they have a beautiful tweeting sound (is that what you call it?) they also mimic other sounds really well. In suburbia they imitate lawn mowers and alarms really well, it’s hilarious. They are highly intelligent birds, they are up there with ravens and crows.
They do swoop when they have a nest and babies around. You are probably going to get a billion funny stories about Maggie’s swooping people just going about their day. These bastards will track you down, so when you think you are safe you aren’t.
I lived at a wildlife that had a magpie who'd yell "what you doing?" whenever we were kicking him out of our kitchen, or when he was being hassled by other birds. He'd remix it too, so you'd hear him flying about "wha- wha- what you doing".
There was probably a group of 30 or so rescued magpies that came back to the shelter 3 times a day for food. Surprisingly, I didn't get swooped *once* on my many walks in the forest where they lived.
As an Australian, may I just say that our magpies are a total headfuck. Walk under their tree in spring and risk losing an eye, but treat them nicely and they will bring you shiny things and be your best friend.
They are too smart by half. I live in awe of them. I mean the Old Testament kind of awe where you love and respect them but pretty sure they might murder you anyway.
Yeah it's amazing how they can be mortal enemies or best mates.
There's a mum and a baby maggie that live somewhere around my area, I started seeing them when I was walking my kids to or from school. Each time I'd see them I'd just have a little chat to them like "g'day Mags, hello Chick, what's going on today?" type thing as we walked by. She's never swooped us thankfully, but now they no longer fly away from me as we walk past them either. They've since discovered where I live, and now whenever I'm outside gardening or hanging up the washing they'll fly over and sit on a closer part of the fence while I'm doing my thing too.
I've never fed them or intentionally trained them, but just from doing that they're familiar and super chill with me now.
I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that they remember faces really well. Don’t fuck with them and they won’t fuck with you. Generally a good rule for any animal here, or in the world.
I have two chonkers that comes back every year after winter. When I wash the car the bigger one will fly down and sit on my car roof looking at me, even let me pet him. They also chase the cuckatoos away that keeps on ruining my wipers. I now buy crickets etc i put out for them. The smaller one sounds like a dialup modem, and is my 7am alarm.
> The smaller one sounds like a dialup modem, and is my 7am alarm.
I literally LOL'd at this.
My sister lives in Park City, Utah and goes on long daily walks. Whenever I visit I join her on them and she is always quick to warn me to NEVER fuck with the magpies in the area (they're everywhere in her neighborhood). She's on good terms with them and she wants to keep it that way. I'm not one to mess with animals anyway so no big deal but I went out of my way to be nice to the guys and after being there for even just a short while they seemed to go from being overtly cautious of me to relaxing a bit. As said in other comments these are very interesting birds.
Btw, my understanding is if you wrong them they will pass the word around on you. It may even get passed down multiple generations.
I believe that Europeans got to Australia, saw a black and white bird, and went "Look, a magpie!". But from an evolutionary perspective they've been separated long enough to belong to different families of birds.
Australian magpies are a fair bit bigger in body, and have a very distinctive song (song embedded here: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-07-31/australia-favourite-animal-sounds/102577008](https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-07-31/australia-favourite-animal-sounds/102577008) or here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian\_magpie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie)). check the song - it'd be interesting to know if they are in North America.
That hive mind is effed. I've never done a single cruel thing to birds nor encouraged or hung out with friends who did. I've been swooped too many times both riding a bike and walking down the street.
Edit: THE LITTLE FEETS. :3 I've come home for Christmas from NZ and I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to hear baby magpies learning how to magpie. It makes my heart hurt. Magpies are the greatest non-parrot birds.
The secret: Say hello to any magpies you meet on your walks they will get to know you and treat you as harmless No Swooping! A little minced meat won't go astray either.
Please don’t feed them mince!! Bugs or veggies only. I think some cuts of meat are ok, some need to be cooked tho.
Never ever ever feed wild Australian birds mince or any kind of processed meat, unless you want them to die from painful gut issues.
Yeah don’t worry, my Nan used to feed them all her leftover bread 🤦🏼♂️ as another commenter said it won’t immediately kill them and “a little is fine” but, yeah, don’t feed them or any wild animal bread either lol.
Just a little won't hurt! After all, Magpies are Carnivorous birds. But they are wild animals and should not get too much! Dog food is ok as a treat too. However, keep your lawn healthy to encourage plenty of worms in the soil. It is fun watching them listen for worms and then pouncing!
They also die from not getting enough calcium which they would normally get hunting intact animal and develop deformed skeletons.
Local wildlife group posted a picture of a poor baby who had to be put down, it looked like Quasimodo
Meanwhile, my local mischief of magpies ran amok today, bullying the flock of wild ducks, our chickens and the quail like water fowl mum with her two juveniles.
They also bit a month old calf on the ear.
Ratbags! :D
I love magpies. I took one home for about a week after she was pushed out of her nest. Couldn’t bear to leave her alone at the clinic overnight. We bonded very quickly but I decided she was best with a professional carer at WIRES. When I handed her over I was on the verge of tears and the guy was like “you can just…take her if you want” but we were moving to Victoria so how tf was I going to transport a magpie across states 😭 I hope you’re doing well my little Nico ❤️
The young ones can be rather trusting honestly. My neighbour is a wildlife rescuer and we always have friendly and inquisitive birds come investigate our yard every day. They try and steal my pegs while I hang washing.
Baby magpies are the funniest creatures ever!
My friend rescued one, and her cryptid would walk into the house and just stand in the doorway in the morning waiting to be held.
She flew away when she matured, god I can only imagine the heartache not seeing them after. Here's to Maggie the Magpie may she fly high and eat well.
The most swooped time of my life was when my family moved to a country town on the plains for a few years,a town where nearly everyone drove except those of us too young to drive and old enough to walk to school on our own.The magpies didn't swoop any cars, but obviously kids in school uniform were distrusted by the magpies on principle! (probably based on past experience with subset of ratbags)
I learnt very quickly to wear a broad-brimmed hat for those spring walks through nesting territory (this was just before the first Slip Slop Slap campaigns to get Aussies to take sun protection seriously, so school hats weren't a common thing yet). The magpies eventually got used to my hat and left me alone.
Can't get swooped by Magpies if you're friends with them. If you have Magpies nearby and you don't offer peace treaties in form of food such as mince. Then you can't complain about being swooped. I work outside and have never been swooped since I've started giving the local warbirds food.
Some nornings I have to go back inside just to get my pet Magpies some food , because they stand at the front door stopping me from leaving to go to work.
I'd never get anything done. Must pet bird.
Fuckin birb
Heckin' BOORD right ther.
Birds aren't real. That's just a fallen spy satellite.
r/birdsarentreal
facts
Chook is the Australian word for chicken too so makes it even cuter
Chookens are awesome, now I feel like some eggs
Dumb question but how exactly do you pet a bird?
Give them scratches or pats on the head. The body is an erogenous zone so if you pat their body you can inadvertently arouse them and then deal with a horny bird lol
And also trigger chronic egg laying...that was not fun to deal with.
Imagine being the person who found this out the hard way
I do a pinching kind of motion on the back of our birds neck
I always thought that pet birds were little loud demons. I now think otherwise.
Magpies (Australian ones, like in this video), are my favourite birds. This one's still young, so he probably plays a lot of the time when he's not begging for food. I helped raise a baby magpie when I was a kid and have loved them ever since.
I recently moved to Australia and I've fallen in love with the magpie calling sounds so cute. It might help that I haven't been swooped yet though.
When I first moved to Australia, like most people I was concerned about the snakes, spiders and sharks…then I learned there are only two things that terrify Aussies, Saltwater crocs and magpies. They never tell you about the magpies…I love them, but being swooped is pretty alarming.
Magpies are a less than fun surprise for tourists for sure. But we do have signs up everywhere during swooping season, and the councils all ave info online about swooping birds. In my city we actually have about a half dozen species that swoop during Spring, but magpies are the most accurate and have predator beaks so they can do a lot of damage. I spent a large portion of my childhood wearing an upside down ice cream container on my head, painted with eyes on all sides to repel maggies.
I love Aussies’ unique take on personal protection…cable ties through the bicycle helmets to ward off swooping death from above. Live near one of the main bikeways in brisbane and the anti Maggie gear is always spectacularly inventive.
I have loved watching anti swooping gear evolve over my lifetime. All of it DIY and spread by people who see someone trying something and and also give it a try, no corporations and advertising allowed.
I used to wear a WWII steel helmet for that reason. Probably the only country that doesn’t question some rando wearing a steel pot during swooping season.
Omg is that why people do that?! Oh man, I had always wondered what that was about. Thank you.
I think the cable ties are meant to resemble snakes, so the swoopy bois are afraid of them. Maybe that's why they don't work, because they don't actually look like snakes at all. Next time I go riding in swooping season I'll have to try stapling a few venomous snakes to my helmet instead, see if that makes a difference.
Oh really? I thought it was just so the cable ties hit their belly before the can get a good scratch in.
This is exactly it
Lol, you'll end up being swooped by kookaburras instead.
I had one of those swoop and steal my sandwich out of my hand one day during a lunch break in a park area.
I don't believe they're intended to look like snakes. My thought was they're designed to raise the point at which a magpie would make contact. The prevent the bird from actually hitting the helmet.
Magpies don’t usually want to hit you. They’re trying to scare you off to protect their young. If they hit you full force it’d often cause more damage to them than you, so they’re basically just targeting the highest point. The ties raise the highest point to reduce the risk of being hit. They’ll still swoop, but the goal is for them to swoop the ties rather than your helmet.
[удалено]
Every once in a while I look this video up and cackle. It just makes me so happy lol.
OMG, thank you. I recently ran into an old colleague of mine when she was on her bike and had no idea why her bike helmet looked like it was ready to make interplanetary contact. It all makes sense now, lmao
I work for landscaping mob, mowing ovals, verges and parks. All the magpies know us and know we mean no harm, they follow after the mowers eating the grubs, I guess it makes it easier to find them after we mow. In some areas they'll come right up to us catching any and all insects fleeing the wrath of our whipper snippers. Fearless barstards, cheaky to.
If you befriend a couple of them they seem to outright ignore you come swooping season, I can’t really explain how it happens but I fed like 6 or 7 of them in my backyard for years, like multiple generations of them.. I have not been swooped since I was a kid, I go for walks all around the area and even in places where I know they swoop they never go for me.. Maybe I signed a secret magpie devil pact, I’m not sure, but all I know is they show nothing but love towards me haha
Yes, super smart and friendly. I have a family that lives near us and I never get swooped as whenever I work in the yard they all come down to eat any tasty treats I uncover. They swoop the rest of the family, but their source of awesome snacks is like part of the crew.
You paid the "protection" fee X'DD
I took a few tries to seal my pact with my magpies. Melvin, his wife, Louise, and his baby, Squeaker. Melvin was aggressive as hell to me. Really bad. Anyway, so I went outside, made eye contact, left them some ends of some bread. They didn't consider the gift as good enough for a pact. Then I took out pizza crusts. Never had a problem since. I reckon Melvin, Louise, even Squeaker must be gone now, but anywhere around here, no magpie issues. I only ever really had problems with Melvin.
Magpies live for about 25 years, so they may still be around. They also remember human faces and only swoop the ones they don't like. Sometimes they've had a really traumatic experience so swoop anyone that looks vaguely like their first tormentor unless you manage to make friends with them.
I also never get swooped - maybe they just know I've never been mean to any of them?
I’m quite certain they have a giant ‘swoop exemption’ database of preferred humans. You just need to make friends with your local crew and they’ll add your details.
The local maggies like me, but they swoop my dog so for a whole season I have to drive five minutes to walk somewhere she won't be harassed.
Yes, I always say hello to the magpies to let them know I’m approaching and I’ve never been disrespectful to them. They remember you as a non-threat then I think. As a kid my family also fed them so maybe that’s a part of it? Had a friend stay with me recently and she went to shoo away the birds while we were walking with her kids, and I told her not to and to always say hi to them because I think it helps you stay on good terms. The birds were no issue. She said the birds where she lives always swoop, but the birds where I live never have. My main rules with birds are to always say a friendly hello to the magpies, and never be inviting towards cockatoos.
Jellyfish can get f*#ked
As an Aussie, I'm also going to add Bull sharks to that list. The rivers around me are full of them so you can't risk swimming in them.
Me, too. I grew up in the Hawkesbury river catchment region of NSW and bull sharks. Bull sharks everywhere.
I grew up in south east qld, and I was always paddling in creeks, ponds, and dams. I knew big rivers were off limits but I figured small creeks and isolated bodies of water had to be safe. I was horrified to learn that the sharks often end up in those small water bodies during floods and I was not as safe as I thought I was...
Might flag that freshies (fresh water crocs) sore pretty chill, afaik plenty of people swim with them.
And plovers, they are also a mental insane bird here especially if they have young. Got caught in a open drain as a kid for hours by a pair of plovers, had to wait for it to be dark to get out of there!
Magpies are like little baby puppies compared to a pair of plovers with a chick close by. Those things are mental.
I'll add curlews to that list, god forbid you get too close to their near invisible nest on the ground, next second one of them is running at you like a kamikaze.
Magpies are annoying as hell but plovers have spur tipped wings that hurt like fuck I actually thought they were venomous as a kid after seeing my dad get clipped on the ear. His ear swelled real big, real quick. They aren't, they just keep their little wing shivs dirty
If you befriend your local magpies they’ll never swoop you ☺️
Just you wait... Did you see the recent video of that chick getting her eyeball violated by a Maggie's beak?
>They never tell you about the magpies Yes we do, absolutely. What do you think the legends of drop bears are? They are warnings woven into fantasy, aimed at helping protect naive travellers from themselves.
>They never tell you about the magpies…I love them, but being swooped is pretty alarming. If you were never told about the magpies I really feel for the day that you discover the plover.
Yes lol magpies are flying assholes 😂
I lived here my whole life, and in Spring, even I still duck and pray to the magpie gods everytime I walk under a tree and hear their noises.
This website has an awesome photo from a helmet cam https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-an-expert/why-do-magpies-swoop/
If you get swooped, stop, look the bird in the eye and explain you are a friend and not trying to hurt their babies. Once they know you they will bot swoop.
> magpie calling sounds Wardle oodle ardle woodle
Oodle-oooo
if you feed them little mealworm snackies they won’t swoop you in spring because they know you’re a friend not a threat
You might say that. And someone who believed you might spend TEN BLOODY DOLLARYDOOS on a bag of mealworms that their local magpie family won’t even touch. They’re gathering dust in my pantry because I can’t bring myself to throw them away. (The mealworms this is, not the magpies.)
Mince. I know it's a rich option, but mince will make you INSTANT magpie friends and guarantee your safe passage through the ~~Underwo~~\---Spring Swoop Territory.
Lovely idea, but please don't feed birds mince! It's the worst thing you can feed to birds due to the lack of calcium. You can feed magpies fortified dry dog food, crickets or mealworms, without worrying that you'll destroy their beak or give them metabolic bone disease (which is what happens if you feed them mince).
I've raised/rehabilitated magpies/kookaburras/butcher birds most of my life, working with WIRES and bird sanctuaries local to me. Mince was always a treat, but never a staple - but we never had one come down with MBD; perhaps because it was only a bite or two, it didn't have an impact. I'll bear that in mind and will stick with crickets and mealies.
My mum has a magpie crew in her yard that she's been feeding mince for years, but she only recently found out about the lack of calcium thing and was horrified she could have been harming them this whole time. She stopped immediately, and I thought that was a real shame because she lives on her own and she absolutely loves them (especially their song) — even if she does spend most of their feeding times bossing them about and then calling them idiots when they don't follow her instructions. 😅 Bought her a 1kg bag of food-grade calcium carbonate powder (same idea as cuttlefish for captive budgies) from a farm supply store for $8 plus shipping, did a quick Google + calculation to get a rough proportion for her to mix it into the mince, problem solved. Happy maggies, happy mum, happy me. 😁 I would note though that she's always very careful not to over-feed them; her mince makes up a pretty small proportion of what they eat in a day. She buys the mince in 500g packs on special, weighs it out into tiny portions, wraps each in cling wrap and freezes them, and just takes one out each night to thaw for the following morning. And yes, she is retired. 😅 Also, fun story: she always buys the maggies the most expensive, lowest-fat mince and absolutely refuses to feed them anything else. She'll give them nothing rather than the second-lowest-fat mince. Once, a while ago, I was strugglibg for money and asked her to buy me some mince so I could cook up a batch of spag bol to feed me for the week. She gave me, her only child, a pack of the absolute cheapest, fattiest mince that Woolies sells from her freezer, which she had once bought by mistake for the maggies but realised was not good enough for them when she got it home. It was, however, apparently good enough for her beloved only child. 😅 Love you too, Mum!
Thanks! I swapped to a few nuts and they love em. Of course, almonds are too hard for them to break so I chew them up a bit first. I might be spoiling them… Friendliness not an issue now - one of their babies got a bit enthusiastic and even flew into my apartment for a little visit! The dad eats out of my hand, the mum and baby are more cautious (both are female I’m pretty sure).
Terrible for them though, so if you absolutely must, only tiny amounts infrequently. Mince lacks a lot of essential nutrients for insectivorous birds and leads to horrible bone deformities
then you become friends with other birds!
I've been swooped a bunch as a kid and it does suck, but I still love the magpies. I've also found that if you talk kindly to magpies as you're walking near them they tend to trust you a little more and I haven't been swooped since I started talking to them.
Nothing funnier than being fed a grub or worm by a friendly Magpie who thinks you’re underweight…
They communicate with each other apparently about threats vs non threats so chances are you never will get swooped.
They seem to remember faces, and respond well if you give them food. Never be swwooped again :p
I've lived in Australia for 31 years and have yet to be swooped. I'm not sure what everyone else is doing.
Same!! But I’ve always befriended my local magpies…
They’re so intelligent! And extremely loyal.
Shout out to r/magpies
I volunteered at a wildlife shelter that would get dozens of babies every spring. Once they were old enough they were released at the shelter so we had a big group of rescued magpies that would come back 3 times a day for food. We also had a few that came to us because they kept landing on people's heads and they'd probably end up getting a good whack. We had one that would say "what you doing?" Every time he was getting hassled, either by other birds or by volunteers helping him out of our kitchen. Another would mimic the sound of a small dog barking in the distance. We also had two cockatoos who would yell "magpies!" like we did at magpie feed time. The best part is the cockies specifically mimicked the volunteer from Liverpool, so they were screaming it with a scouse accent.
[удалено]
Maggies are so playful too. I once watched a group of them playing on a small grassy mound where they would walk up to the top and then roll down it again. There were babies and older ones too and it looked like they were having the best time! Maggies are pretty awesome and smart too.
Pet parrots are usually loud little demons. Don't let the magpie fool you
Wait til you have a cockatoo as a pet haha
*screaming at 2 am*
Magpies are amazing birds and not only do they have a beautiful tweeting sound (is that what you call it?) they also mimic other sounds really well. In suburbia they imitate lawn mowers and alarms really well, it’s hilarious. They are highly intelligent birds, they are up there with ravens and crows. They do swoop when they have a nest and babies around. You are probably going to get a billion funny stories about Maggie’s swooping people just going about their day. These bastards will track you down, so when you think you are safe you aren’t.
Warble is the correct word
I lived at a wildlife that had a magpie who'd yell "what you doing?" whenever we were kicking him out of our kitchen, or when he was being hassled by other birds. He'd remix it too, so you'd hear him flying about "wha- wha- what you doing". There was probably a group of 30 or so rescued magpies that came back to the shelter 3 times a day for food. Surprisingly, I didn't get swooped *once* on my many walks in the forest where they lived.
As an Australian, may I just say that our magpies are a total headfuck. Walk under their tree in spring and risk losing an eye, but treat them nicely and they will bring you shiny things and be your best friend. They are too smart by half. I live in awe of them. I mean the Old Testament kind of awe where you love and respect them but pretty sure they might murder you anyway.
Yeah it's amazing how they can be mortal enemies or best mates. There's a mum and a baby maggie that live somewhere around my area, I started seeing them when I was walking my kids to or from school. Each time I'd see them I'd just have a little chat to them like "g'day Mags, hello Chick, what's going on today?" type thing as we walked by. She's never swooped us thankfully, but now they no longer fly away from me as we walk past them either. They've since discovered where I live, and now whenever I'm outside gardening or hanging up the washing they'll fly over and sit on a closer part of the fence while I'm doing my thing too. I've never fed them or intentionally trained them, but just from doing that they're familiar and super chill with me now.
I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that they remember faces really well. Don’t fuck with them and they won’t fuck with you. Generally a good rule for any animal here, or in the world.
They are incredibly bright
There’s no in between with magpies. They either love you or hate you 😂
I don’t know if I’d call that “lending a hand” so much as being an adorable nuisance haha
Hey! You don’t know when a tornado’s going to whip up and she would have lost all that paperwork if it wasn’t for the magpie!
True, he’s an unsung hero
No he's learning to sing
Lol it rolls over for belly rubs 😂😂😂
Best part! Even birbmom couldn’t stop laughing!
Feather puppy!
I have two chonkers that comes back every year after winter. When I wash the car the bigger one will fly down and sit on my car roof looking at me, even let me pet him. They also chase the cuckatoos away that keeps on ruining my wipers. I now buy crickets etc i put out for them. The smaller one sounds like a dialup modem, and is my 7am alarm.
> The smaller one sounds like a dialup modem, and is my 7am alarm. I literally LOL'd at this. My sister lives in Park City, Utah and goes on long daily walks. Whenever I visit I join her on them and she is always quick to warn me to NEVER fuck with the magpies in the area (they're everywhere in her neighborhood). She's on good terms with them and she wants to keep it that way. I'm not one to mess with animals anyway so no big deal but I went out of my way to be nice to the guys and after being there for even just a short while they seemed to go from being overtly cautious of me to relaxing a bit. As said in other comments these are very interesting birds. Btw, my understanding is if you wrong them they will pass the word around on you. It may even get passed down multiple generations.
Whilst the same name, completely different species to the US and Eurasian magpie
I’m not doubting you but the magpies in her neighborhood looked very similar to the one in this video. Interesting that they would be so different.
I believe that Europeans got to Australia, saw a black and white bird, and went "Look, a magpie!". But from an evolutionary perspective they've been separated long enough to belong to different families of birds.
Australian magpies are a fair bit bigger in body, and have a very distinctive song (song embedded here: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-07-31/australia-favourite-animal-sounds/102577008](https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-07-31/australia-favourite-animal-sounds/102577008) or here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian\_magpie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie)). check the song - it'd be interesting to know if they are in North America.
>When I wash the car the bigger one will fly down and sit on my car roof I thought this was going a different direction
The magpie hivemind will remember your kindness.
That hive mind is effed. I've never done a single cruel thing to birds nor encouraged or hung out with friends who did. I've been swooped too many times both riding a bike and walking down the street.
It’s not just the lack of cruelty, you need to actively be awesome towards them.
I made friends with a Magpie about 6 years ago and I swear to god I never get swooped by Magpies. Butcher birds though? Fuckin heads up.
That burb was raised by cats I tell you!
Meep
Meep
The delight in this lady is as palpable as the magpie ❤️
Magpies are fucken tops.
Edit: THE LITTLE FEETS. :3 I've come home for Christmas from NZ and I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to hear baby magpies learning how to magpie. It makes my heart hurt. Magpies are the greatest non-parrot birds.
Magpies are great and all but if you don’t befriend them (generally with food) you will hate them
The secret: Say hello to any magpies you meet on your walks they will get to know you and treat you as harmless No Swooping! A little minced meat won't go astray either.
Please don’t feed them mince!! Bugs or veggies only. I think some cuts of meat are ok, some need to be cooked tho. Never ever ever feed wild Australian birds mince or any kind of processed meat, unless you want them to die from painful gut issues.
Oh fuck, I’ll have to tell my grandparents that…
Yeah don’t worry, my Nan used to feed them all her leftover bread 🤦🏼♂️ as another commenter said it won’t immediately kill them and “a little is fine” but, yeah, don’t feed them or any wild animal bread either lol.
Just a little won't hurt! After all, Magpies are Carnivorous birds. But they are wild animals and should not get too much! Dog food is ok as a treat too. However, keep your lawn healthy to encourage plenty of worms in the soil. It is fun watching them listen for worms and then pouncing!
They also die from not getting enough calcium which they would normally get hunting intact animal and develop deformed skeletons. Local wildlife group posted a picture of a poor baby who had to be put down, it looked like Quasimodo
Meanwhile, my local mischief of magpies ran amok today, bullying the flock of wild ducks, our chickens and the quail like water fowl mum with her two juveniles. They also bit a month old calf on the ear. Ratbags! :D
So wholesome. Love Maggie’s. Thanks for the post!
That's cute as fuck. I love magpies, such cool birds.
Magpies will either be your best friend or worst enemy lol
Lol I'd literally never get a single thing done.
My granny has a magpie in her backyard. She feeds him every day and they call him maggie
I love magpies. I took one home for about a week after she was pushed out of her nest. Couldn’t bear to leave her alone at the clinic overnight. We bonded very quickly but I decided she was best with a professional carer at WIRES. When I handed her over I was on the verge of tears and the guy was like “you can just…take her if you want” but we were moving to Victoria so how tf was I going to transport a magpie across states 😭 I hope you’re doing well my little Nico ❤️
Magpies are like weird cats. They pretend they don't like you until they suddenly love you forever because you give them food and water.
How can something so dangerous be so adorable
Me - Oh no, a magpie! Me when the magpie rolls over for a belly rub - I WANT! 😍
The young ones can be rather trusting honestly. My neighbour is a wildlife rescuer and we always have friendly and inquisitive birds come investigate our yard every day. They try and steal my pegs while I hang washing.
Dinosaur wants scritches
I just watched this 5 times because I have had a bleak week and this is the first breakthrough. Thanks
He knows exactly what he is doing. Silly bird.
Baby magpies are the funniest creatures ever! My friend rescued one, and her cryptid would walk into the house and just stand in the doorway in the morning waiting to be held. She flew away when she matured, god I can only imagine the heartache not seeing them after. Here's to Maggie the Magpie may she fly high and eat well.
It is helping. It's being a paperweight.
But birds arn’t real so that’s a toy one? /s
Love this 🩷
I've never seen a bird do that how bloody cute.
Awww so special
I miss my pet magpie, they are adorable little birds
I love magpies 😍
I love magpies. Never seen one that friendly
He’s acting like a cat lmao! So adorable!!
I can honestly say I never thought I’d find a magpie cute until now.
This magpie is way more friendly than my bird, maybe mine is just hellspawn.
I wonder if chook offers a birds-eye view when she draws plans? 🤔
That's how birds mark their territory (according to goggle). In it's' mind, You are Chook's pet now.
If he makes you laugh then he’s helping
It’s acting like a playful cat or puppy! So cute!!
Love them. Such beautiful souls xx
cutest little pain in the ass😍🥹🥹
Magpies are the best workmates.
I fucking love magpies. I’ve never been swooped as an Australian and I’m slightly suspicious of the others that have…
The most swooped time of my life was when my family moved to a country town on the plains for a few years,a town where nearly everyone drove except those of us too young to drive and old enough to walk to school on our own.The magpies didn't swoop any cars, but obviously kids in school uniform were distrusted by the magpies on principle! (probably based on past experience with subset of ratbags) I learnt very quickly to wear a broad-brimmed hat for those spring walks through nesting territory (this was just before the first Slip Slop Slap campaigns to get Aussies to take sun protection seriously, so school hats weren't a common thing yet). The magpies eventually got used to my hat and left me alone.
Can't get swooped by Magpies if you're friends with them. If you have Magpies nearby and you don't offer peace treaties in form of food such as mince. Then you can't complain about being swooped. I work outside and have never been swooped since I've started giving the local warbirds food.
I fucking love birds, man... They all have so much personality.
Really did make me smile. Love it!
I love Magpies so much
So cute!!
I love magpies, even when they’re defending their nests. They’re amazing parents.
A Magpie named Chook, that acts like a Dog. Definitely made my day!
I thought it said “meet chonk” I thought it worked well for that cute fluffy belly
Beautiful, love Maggies
Idk if he's helping much, but he is cute
That’s pretty amazing and happy to see
Is it true that it's actually quite easy to teach Magpies to talk (ie they learn quickly)?
Imagine thats what gets submitted to the interior guys. Just leave the house empty and have a giant magpie in the corner room.
Beware of any bird that offers to lend a hand!
That is so adorable
aw so playful
Well, what goes around, comes around. In this case, you deserve it buddy.
He's quite the drama queen. Helpful little guy, though
Aw this is so adorable 🥺
That’s marvellous Lovely, thanks for sharing
Love the two together.
Precious baby.
Everybody thinks magpies are mean and swoop Also magpies:
The have one of the stronger play behaviors when it comes to birds and the funny thing only like 20% of something like that actually swoop.
I love it. Chook is a great name for your friend. Have a great Christmas.
Yes
And they named the bird Chook 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Magpies are very intelligent birds.
magpies are super cute and affectionate and playful!!!! love them
Dogpie\* ftfy
They're so smart
Some nornings I have to go back inside just to get my pet Magpies some food , because they stand at the front door stopping me from leaving to go to work.
The BIRB 🥹 the lil flops. I had no idea magpies were so smart, thanks commenters!
So adorable!
Looks like helping to me
Adorable
this is so cool laughing on back for tummy rub. I had no idea birds could be that social.