Baby Magpie
We have had quite a flurry of birds breeding in our garden and nearby over the last month or so. White Winged Choughs, Little Ravens, New Holland Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, House Sparrows, Common Starlings, Blackbirds and Grey Shrike Thrushes to name a few of them.
Australian Magpie
One species that I was surprised about was our resident Australian Magpies. They have been very quiet in recent weeks and I did not find a nest. Not that I looked very hard, mind you. Still, I probably expect them to nest within about 40 metres of the house as is their usual habit.
Yesterday I heard the unmistakable call of a baby magpie calling from the tall eucalypt tree next to the driveway. Sure enough, there was a newly fledged baby magpie all covered in downy feathers and constantly begging to be fed.
UPDATE: I have just written a new articles, with photos, of the latest baby magpie in our garden. To read it, click here.
Newly fledged Australian Magpie
Blog Entries
October 17th, 2006 at 8:50 am
[…] Baby Magpie […]
December 14th, 2006 at 10:24 am
I have invested in a 4 unit site in a suburb of Perth. Next year the company will start developing the site and I am concerned about the birds. Can you let me know when it would be a good time to have the trees cut down. Of course it could not be spring, so which month would be the least harm to the birdlife. Thanking you, Lorraine.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Hi there Lorraine. Welcome to my blog. I commend you on your concern for the bird life of your area. Without a personal knowledge of the area you are building in, it is rather hard to give precise information to help you. My comments below are therefore of a general nature only, so use this as a guide to making decisions. It may be of more help to contact your local National Parks office for more detailed information.
If you are only talking about Australian Magpies, records from over 4000 nests Australia wide suggest that the breeding season lasts from June to March, but usually only from August to December. On this information, autumn would be the best time to clear the trees.
If you are talking about all the birds of the area then the situation is much more complex. Some honeyeater and pigeon species are known to breed during any month of the year. This is usually in response to environmental conditions; if there is suitable food available they will breed. Crested Pigeons, for example, ALWAYS seem to be breeding around our home.
As a general guide, though, many Australian species breed during spring and summer. August to December seem to be the prime times, with overlap at each end of this time frame depending on the conditions.
It might be worthwhile borrowing a Field Guide of Birds, identifying what birds are in the area, and then looking through the guide for details of their times of breeding.
June 29th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Hi there Brett - welcome to my birding blog. I have been watching birds all my life. I will be 60 later this year. Even though I’ve studied birds all my life I am still learning new thins every day. I do not know much about birds from other countries, for example. That is what makes this such an interesting hobby.
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Hey, I love magpies and quite a few live in my trees. My favourite one I named Maggie. I haven’t seen her for ages. Can you tell me the average lifespan of Australian Magpies???
September 8th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Thanks for visiting Laura.
I am not sure of the lifespan of Magpies. I am interstate at present and do not have access to my library.
A search on the internet suggests that the average lifespan is 4 years. The oldest recorded bird was 23 years.
September 15th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
It’s me again. I just want to say thank you. I miss Maggie. She was a really good Magpie although I must admit her children were very noisy. Thanks again. Laura.
September 16th, 2007 at 7:52 am
I understand how you feel Laura. We once had a regular magpie visitor to our garden and we called him Beaky, because he had half a beak missing. we enjoyed his visits and company for several years before he died.
September 30th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Hi Trevor, A friends child brought me a baby magpie that I assume has fallen out of its nest. The poor thing has a broken leg from what I can tell it is not able to stand on it. It can not yet fly so I would say it is quite young. It still has its baby feathers. What I would love to know and am hoping you can help is what they eat, so far I have been seaching though my garden and have been feeding it worms, beetles, gubs, and slugs (I’m hoping they are all ok). As it is a little hard finding worms which I know they eat I have also been feeding it 95% mince beef (hoping thats ok too). The other problem I have is how much to feed it and also is there anything I can do about its broken leg. This is the second day with the bird and if you could tell me anything else that may help it would be great too. Thank you in addvance Pat
September 30th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Hi there, I too have got a baby magpie which my partner rescued while my pony was trying to hurt it. It appears that he has only a bruised leg as he can use it but not properly. I have it kept in a dog crate and am feeding it mince. What sort of bedding does he need, and should i prevent him from climing on a perch until he can use he’s leg fully? We want to save him but don’t want to keep him alive if he’ll never recover.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Hi there Pat and Alicia,
I am sorry but I am not experienced in caring for baby or injured birds. There are over 250 animal rescue and care groups throughout Australia. These people are trained and can offer much better advice than I could.
Search for an organisation near you by going to this web site:
http://www.fauna.org.au/faunasearch.htm
Sorry I couldn’t help you.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
i have found a baby magpie around the corner from where i live and i was about to touch it but i didnt because i wanted to know if it had disease or something like that.Do you think you can help me?
October 4th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Hi there Gladys and Ashley,
You did the right thing leaving the baby magpie. It has probably been blown out of the nest or has just left the nest. Its parents know where it is and its begging calls will direct them to it.
I do not know much about bird diseases but it is highly unlikely that it would have any kind of disease that could harm you. Here in Australia we are free of most animal diseases. That is why we have very strict quarantine rules.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:47 am
my teachers magpie is a girl or a boy so how do we tell what sex it is
October 16th, 2007 at 9:56 am
how do you tell if a baby magpie is a boy or girl?
November 13th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Hi there Brock and Marley.
Thank you for your question about magpies. I will reply to you privately by email.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Hi all. I’m a wildlife carer in Vic and just wanted to provide some information with regards to some of the questions on the blog although it may be a little belated. Firstly, let me say that injured or orphaned native animals need specialised care and a local wildlife group or vet should be contacted as soon as possible as per Trevors advice. There are a few illnesses that can be passed from bird to human but this differs between certain species. Salmonellosis can be carried in the faeces of wild birds so thorough washing of hands is imperative after handling birds. With regard to the post from Pat (30/09)about a magpies broken leg.. Without knowing exactly where the fracture was in this birds leg, it should have been taken directly to a vet for examination and most likely euthanased. Without going into too much detail, depending on where the fracture is in the leg, it may be able to be mended but birds bones heal within 48 hours so they need to be seen by a vet straight away to determine the viability of treatment. It is irresponsible to keep a bird knowing that it has a broken leg as it will never survive in the wild and become easy prey for a predator. With regard to feeding a baby magpie, again, they need specialised care and food, not just a diet of mince, although Pat did do the right thing by supplementing this with insects. I implore everybody to please contact your local vet or wildlife organisation if you find injured wildlife. I hope this information has helped a little. thanks.
January 16th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hi There. I’m a gardener from Sydney who has a variety of native birds visit my park throughout the day. Today I came across a baby magpie who had enlarged galls on it’s face, predominately under the eyes and on the top of his beak. Looked like wards. His mother was feeding him though he was having difficulty judging distance. Have you heard of this?
January 16th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Ooops, wrong email
January 16th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Hi there Katie.
From your description and the limited resources I have available it sounds like pox virus, relatively common in wild birds and domestic poultry.
The virus is spread by blood sucking insects such as mosquitoes and mites. There is no known suitable treatment and so this little bird will probably die, unfortunately.
I would advise against trying to catch it. Just let nature take its course.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:34 am
We have a visiting baby magpie which also has nobbles and bumps on its face and beak. I was worried that I was in some way responsible by feeding it with occasional bits of cheese and canned dog food. It’s a relief to know that it’s a virus but I’m sad I can’t help the poor thing. Is cheese bad for magpies?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hi there Sue - magpies tend to be rather omnivorous and will try to eat almost anything.
Their preferred diet includes insects, beetles, worms, caterpillars, crickets, ants, millipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, cicadas, moths, cockroaches, mantises, snails, eggs, bees, seed, small fruit (eg berries). They are also meat eaters and will eat small reptiles, frogs, mice and even small birds (eg babies in nests).
Cheese, even in small amounts, is probably not very good for them even if they like it. Try giving some of the things listed above instead (eg worms or snails).
It would be wise not to let the bird become too dependent on food you give it. Just a treat or two every day or so. It needs to learn to fend for itself.
February 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hi…Remember me? The one that misses Maggie dearly…Well, a few days ago my mum found an injured pigeon on the road…She took it home with us…A few hours ago it died though…it was some kind of bug problem…There were these small bugs that were all over the poor pigeon…I found lumps everywhere…It was too late…:(
February 19th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Welcome back Laura. How sad to witness the demise of a lovely bird. Unfortunately many of our wild birds suffer badly through lice, viruses and other problems. It’s all part of the natural cycle of things - but still distressing nevertheless.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I know…
March 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Our baby magpie and its sibling which also developed nobbles on its face have both recovered. The lumps got bigger and bigger and then started to go down until the birds look quite normal again. As well, they seem to be fit and healthy. A good news story!
March 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am
That is good news indeed Sue. Thanks for sharing a good news story.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:11 am
It is lovely to hear of so many people who care so much about our beautiful Magpies, I am a bird rescue person in New Zealand and I have two pet Magpies, one Named Maggie and the other called Tui ,they are both in large aviaries because they are now officially registered pests (sadly). As these two were handed in injured One with a broken ankle and the other orphaned after mum was shot, I have decided they will live out their lives in safety with me. they both wolf whistle and whistle, pop goes the weasel, imitate sirens and are generally wonderful birds to have , I feel very honoured to have them. They are fed Mince , insects,Calcium in foodand Vitamins also mashed peas and corn. If anyone needs an alternate healthy recipe that is used widely for raising our native Kiwi’s and other endangered meat eaters, I would be only to happy to oblige.regards Suzy (Taupo bird rescue NZ)
March 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hi there Suzy. Welcome to my blog.
I had forgotten that the Australian Magpie was introduced into New Zealand. It is sad that they have become pests in your country. Such beautiful songsters.
We delight in having several families of them living on our small property. They come regularly for a drink and splash in our bird baths. We haven’t got into the habit of feeding them as some people do.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:55 am
Hi there, I just wanted to say how lovely it is to read the stories here. We rescued a magpie on saturday here in England UK. It was really tame & pecking my toes while I was standing on our patio. We were offering moist dog mixer biscuits (all our feathered visitors love them when our greyhound leaves a few!)& hand fed it for some time. We had to rescue it though because 2 other magpies
started to attack it. It looks like a young adult. We`re not sure how to tell what sex it is? We bought a large parrot cage & mynah bird food. Mature cheddar cheese has been a real favourite along with chicken, millet & a corn cob tied to the top of the cage. Its very hygienic & uses its water bowl for a bath every morning. We`re waiting to see if it will start to talk as it likes to chat in magpie squark! & is so very friendly & plays happily with the bits & pieces in its cage. They are very intelligent birds & such a pleasure to watch.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Hi I have a family of magpied which visit us every day, one of the babies had cotten twisted around her foot after a month or so of feeding her to get used to us we were able to catch her and remove the cotten which was embedded into her leg and full of pus I contact the local wildlife assoc. and they gave me supplements and antibiotics for her. which we were able to get her to take even though she was still free. after a month or so she was walking properly and is now a beautiful bird with a future. Sadly the parents have forcer her “Hoppy and her Sister Strider” as she could walk quickly to leave the area as I think they are looking at breeding again.
It would be great if everyone could take care not to discard fishing line, cotton etc so our wildlife didnt become entrapped.
Does anyone know when mapies are nesting if the mother bird stays in the nest or not?
thanks
July 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Hi Edna. Magpies nest from July to December. sometimes as early as June further North. they make nests of sticks ,grasses, wool etc. in the forks of Pines , Macrocarpa, Eucalypts etc and the hen incubates 2 to 4 grey/blue eggs with dark blotches for 20 days, both sexes feed the chicks. I hope this answers your’e question
July 27th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for that Suzy.
This week our resident magpies commenced refurbishing the nest they used last year. They have been busy at it all week.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Hi,
I have been searching for recipes for Magpie food and came across your site. I would just like to share a recipe that I found on http://www.birdcare.asn.au/pdf/magpies.pdf:
Magpie Formula
1 can Pal puppy food
Wheat germ
Heinz High Protein baby cereal
Wombaroo insectivore mix - (available through your vet, or pet shop)
One tablespoon chopped parsley
One chopped hard-boiled egg
Half a cup of grated hard cheese ie- Old Bitey
One tablespoon of calcium carbonate
All of the above ingredients must be used.
If any are left out nutritional deficiencies can occur
Add equal amounts of Heinz high protein baby cereal, wheat germ, and Wombaroo insectivore mix to the can of Puppy pal (one spoon of each at a time) until the mix is a moist crumble. Add the grated cheese, parsley, egg and calcium carbonate.
This makes a large supply that can be frozen in small amounts with each days supply being defrosted as necessary. All food must be fed fresh or freshly defrosted daily.
All feeding dishes must be washed in hot soapy water daily to prevent disease.
Also there are 2 recipes on http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/urban/wildlife.html
Regards
KB
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I am very excited I have found this blog as I have been trying to find out about the secret life of Maggies. We have a family of 8 magpies on one side of our house and a small family of 2 on the other side and the roof line is almost never crossed-over by the two groups. I have spent many wasted hours watching our ‘group of 8′ emu-bobbing for food, playing and fighting from my study window. We do not have any personal contact with this group so don’t know them pesonally.
Our pair on the other side of the house have become very tame and wait daily to be fed and will stroll through the house at times. They have been around for a number of years as we can identify the male due to a missing toenail. In 2006 they produced a baby which they brought down to visit at our kitchen window. We were most excited and he was around for many months but when we went away for an extended holiday and came home he was gone!!! We were most excited to see our pair nesting last year but no babies appeared.
I am very excited to say that we have noticed our girl maggie nesting this afternoon and wait in excited anticipation for a baby. We are surprised that they have built a new nest closer to our house but some 100 mtrs from last years nest. I always thought magpies used the same nest year after year.
We have been hearing a magpie regularly carrolling at about 3am and wonder if this has something to do with breeding.
In another area of our garden is a young lone magpie which is very different from the others. It has very brown wings and is always alone. I am wondering if this is due to it’s colouring (racial discrimination in the bird world?).
We also have a family of butcher birds who have become reasonably tame and feed with our magpies. The maggies are not too pleased and chase them away but the butcher birds are clever flyers and know that if they fly through our dense bushes the magpies are too big to get through. We have lots of fun watching them try to outsmart each other.
I am very glad to discover a recipe for feeding magpies as it has always worried me that fresh meat is unhealthy for them and that is why they didn’t breed last season.
I really look forward to reading other people’s experiences with this delightful bird.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
It’s interesting to read these entries on the Australian magpie. We’ve been following our tribe in the foothills of Adelaide for 24 years and have a genealogy that stretches back for 5 generations. Just looking through the entries here, one item that needs correction is the lifespan of magpies. Our original couple died in their early 20’s. We got to know them after the Ash Wednesday bushfire of 1983. At that time they had their full colours so they were at least 2 years old by then. The cock (George) died in 2001 from eating a rat that we had poisened with rapid kill (we’ll never use that product again!). We actually had him euthenased as he was bleeding badly. His mate (Scunge, don’t ask!) was electrocuted with one of her offspring in April 2006 when the two of them spanned the power lines, presumably wingtip to wingtip. This created a huge ruckus in our family and those left had their territory reduced when a neighbouring family took over a section that had always belonged to our mob.
The territoriality of the magpie is absolute - I can draw and invisible line through our 2 acre block that is NEVER transgressed, by either side.
I read that one respondent indicated they had a ‘discoloured’ maggie - that would most likely be a juvenile. They don’t loose the brown/grey feathers and grey beak until they are 2 years old. Until then it is impossible to tell a male from a female, except that you can guess sometimes by the amount of singing they do. If you hear a youngster apparantly warbling just for the joy of it, our experience has been that it will more likely show itself to be a male when it gets its colours. They love to sing when there is noise in the area - a lawn mower will the young ones going on a warm weekend day.
I also note that one person came back after a long holiday to find a youngster gone. Again, our experience has been that if it’s a young male, it will have the heavies put on it to leave soon after he gets his colours (2nd year). The cock of the group can lead merciless attacks on the younger set and we have had babies whose legs have been broken (we presume) from the apparent injuries resulting from these pecking-order barnies.
With reference to food, we get condemned for feeding our guys, but they only get mince, twice a day - we’ve tried other meats but it’s an experience and a half to have a bag of feathers refuse to take dog meat and hang out until the mince is offered! They gather at the front door for the morning session and are waiting for us when we return from work. At other times they know there’s nothing for them so they go about their business. In 24 years, this feeding regime does not seem to have affected the family. They’ve bred normally and produced healthy offspring and live long lives. However, we did have an offspirng last year (Wheezie) which had respiratory problems and only lasted 5-6 weeks out of the nest. So, this year we are using a mix suggested by Fauna rescue just to make sure we’re not harming the young ones when their biology is forming.
We have taken 6 week trips during nesting a fledgeling season and the family is just as healthy as when we left - they don’t starve for the inability forage for themselves. They’re a canny lot.
And the singing in the middle of the night during nesting season is usual. We’ve assuned it has to do with the fact that the hen is possibly under hreat as she is ‘chained to the nest’ and these are re-assurance calls that all is well. Think of them as the old town crier.
Magpies have very individual personalities. We have one chap we call Stalin - a most endearing rogue who will take on all comers. We have pictures of him trying to heard two ducks and checking out a koala. He’s a fearsome opponent for any unwanted visitors to the territory (that is, if he’s moved to do something about it, he chooses when it suits him). Another of our maggies can look into your soul - he bores you with his eyes during the feed session and seems to need that inner contact. Celia, the current hen, is incredibly placid and stays above the fray of the family and goes about her business.
I’m orginally Canadian and when my parents used to visit every second year through the 80’s and 90’s, their first stop was to see the maggies - we came second. They’re an amazing bird and if you think you’ve got them tamed, look in the mirror and you may see the real relationship - they’ve got you tamed.
And to the person from England, the Aussie magpie is not the despised magpie you have over there. Like so much of our flora and fauna, it was given an English name because it looked vaguely like the British bird - black and white, but otherwise, it’s a diffrent and local-only bird.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Thanks for visiting Trudy - and for all of your comments. It really shows that you thoroughly enjoy watching the lives of the magpies in your neighbourhood. I invite you to return often to my blog and to leave comments and observations of the birds in your part of the world.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Thanks for visiting Mac - and for your lengthy comments. I may even extract some of your comments for separate articles on my blog in coming weeks - it depends on how much time I have to spare.
I appreciate your comments on the longevity of Australian Magpies. I spent some time looking through the HANZAB entry - this is THE authority on Australian birds and is a compilation of all research done on each species.
While the articles do not specifically mention a definitive life expectancy of this species, there have been some individual magpies that have lived well into their 20s. When I wrote that the average lifespan of Australian Magpies is 4, that is probably fairly close to the mark. The death rate in juveniles is sadly very high which skews the average down considerably. This high death rate is sadly as a result of road kills. One article suggests that the death rate could be as high as 60% in the first year.
The flip side is brighter - if a magpie survives the first year, there is a very good chance it will live for 5, 10 or even more years. Twenty years is not unknown. I guess that the further one goes from busy roads the better is the survival rate (my opinion only).
August 31st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Hi Trevor,
My name is Tammy and I’m a wildlife carer, I have been raising baby birds for years & love doing it - saving our precious native birds and animals so they can go back to the wild is an amazing feat.
I’ve been reading your blog & I agree that yes, it is best to leave the raising of these guys to their parents ( they do a better job) or if the baby is orphaned phone a wildlife care group nearest you. They are regularly trained each year to do this, as well as licenced by national parks & wildlife.
Every spring/summer I spend sometimes up to12 hours a day feeding tiny baby birds ( all different species but mostly tiny insectivorous ones) and I really enjoy it.
About hand feeding the birds in your backyard - we usually are against this, but in times of need for instance drought, I am known to support feed some birds around our place if i’ve released them. We do this in a way that they still will learn to hunt for them selves and gradually taper off feeding times and amounts slowly so the bird does not starve.
But to do this right, you need the balanced diet that they need to keep them healthy and if you are not trained to do this the proper way, the bird becomes tame ( or imprinted) to you ( or any human being that’s around). This is bad for the bird because it will lose it’s fear of humans/ pets which results in the bird being eventually killed by a predator. ( humans, dogs, cats)
Happy bird watching - Tammy
August 31st, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Thank you Tammy for this timely reminder to all of my readers.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:09 pm
[…] Baby Magpie […]
September 1st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
That’s okay! no problem. Tammy
September 1st, 2008 at 8:08 pm
With reference to Tammy’s comment about being imprinted on its feeder, my experience has been that with our wild magpies (ie. raised to independence by their parents, they are actually capable of distinguishing between humans. For instance, if they haven’t had their morning feed, they will give us a gentle reminder by flying close to us or landing at our feet. But they don’t show this behaviour with anyone else.
I also had an almost unnerving experience in a downtown park in Adelaide. On the way to work, I ‘befriended’ a male maggie and occasionally fed him a piece of mince meat. One day, on the way home, I was crossing a four lane road with a number of other pedestrians. While waiting at the lights, I could see the maggie perched on a light pole in the park, and he seemed to be eyeing me, but I put that down to my anthropomorphic tendencies. However, when I crossed the road, he flew down to my feet, no mistaking that he had picked me out of the group. I could only surmise that he could identify me by my distinctive metal briefcase, which occasionally held his mince treat.
I had only fed him about a dozen times over an eight month period. I moved offices soon after and a year later passed through the park and called at him from a distance of about 30 meters and he responded just as he did 12 months ago. They’re a very canny bird and I presume the adults, living potentially into their 20’s, and spending all their life in a single territory, they get to know all the sights and sounds intimately. You can buy into that memory bank with a little bribery!
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
This video about the lyre bird is absolutely fascinating and is worth viewing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y
What a wonderful bird!!
September 5th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
You are right Trudy - it is an amazing bird and an amazing piece of filming.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
hi everyone, we have an south australian white backed magpie which we hand reared after my son found it on a pathway still pink with no feathers we didn’t know what it was for a couple of weeks, Timone (his name) now lives with us inside the house however we do take him outside for walks as he has a harness as i don’t believe in clipping wings(as in the wild timone still defends his territory and family (us) he is like a 3 yr old child wanting everything you have timone is now 18 months old and is doing excellent (he can never be released as these birds are teritorial and he does’nt know the dangers of the wild but does live a happy life with us
September 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Hi again,
I just visited my sister who live in suburbia Melbourne, there is a flock of approx 30 magpies hanging around her house mostly juveniles I have never seen so many in one place. She told me 4 of them were sitting on her window this morning looking in while she had a shower. Has anyone every heard of magpies congregating like this or know why they do it.
My own resident maggies have a new nest and are keeping very busy feeding their new babies. I am so looking forward to them bringing them to meet us.
I love reading other magpie lovers comments so keep them coming.
September 15th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Hi there Edna,
This is an interesting observation but not uncommon. The social behaviour of Australian Magpies has been well studied over the years. It is quite complex as you would imagine. There are many different types of flocks that they form at different times of the year.
The most common is a breeding group a 2 - 6 individuals who normally defend a territory vigorously. This group can have several juveniles or non-breeding adults.
Also quite common are the non-territorial groups consisting largely of juveniles but can have some non-breeding adults. These can vary from 10-50 individuals. This is probably what you witnessed. While it is not unusual, it is noteworthy.
Loose foraging flocks of anywhere from 50 to 500 have been recorded. This has usually been in response to extreme climatic conditions such as drought. Large flocks may congregate where there is a sudden abundance of food, for example, after localised rain.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
My father has often told me about the maggie nest he had as part of a collection when he was a young boy in the mid 1930’s. It was a magpie nest containing wire and a hand egg beater!!! Sadly his collection has long gone.
September 16th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Hi there Trudy. Thanks for that comment. Magpies, ravens and crows are amazing in their use of our cast off items. I have heard of some amazing things found in bird’s nests. Our own resident magpies have use box thorn extensively in some of their nests -how they can sit on them and not get spiked beats me!
September 19th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Great site, just have some questions this morning my husband was going to work and saw baby magpie and two adults near it on the ground near his car. I thought it fell out of nest and rang 1300 number but have had no response. My thoughts after reading your site are that they are in process of teaching it to fly. One of the parents fed it as baby was screeching for food and then parent bird moved to rear of baby that was sitting on a garden sleeper. The baby shook its tail feathers and out popped a sack of fecal matter that the parent scooped up before it could fall on the ground and flew off. The other parent stayed in the area. Whilst one was off looking for food the other parent stays around. I really hope that it is learning to fly and hasn’t fallen out of nest, not sure what to do as when baby is not eating it is crouched down behind the garden sleeper out of the wind.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
hey trevor/anyone else that can help
i just came home and there was a baby magpie sitting on my doorstep - very young, but had feathers. i dont think that it will be recovered by the parents, and was wondering what the best way of looking after it would be? please email or reply here asap
thanks
harley
September 19th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
also it was completely unafraid of me…
September 19th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
hi the best thing for your baby is wombaroo insectivore rearing mix with pedigree puppy food and weetbix with timone we also crushed up meal worms you mix it all together with some nice warm water even they the baby has feathers it is still wise to make a nice comfortable bed with a hot water botttle or something to keep it warm ctrust me it will let you know hhen the little one is hungry goood luck with it hope this helps
September 19th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
also we found it easier to feed the baby on the back a teaspoon handle its the perfect shape and size to get the food in as the baby puts its head up for feeding
September 20th, 2008 at 10:16 am
he/she is eating some mince ive been giving it, which is good
ill try ur suggestions for food - thanks heaps!
im so scared its gonna die though! aah.
so keep it warm and feed it - is stuff like bread soaked in water bad?
thanks again
September 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
hi harley / everyone we have a magpie which we reared from birth i cant stress enough about people feeding there baby magpies mince meat (it is not good for them ) as the preservatives in the mince depletes the bone structure in magpies and any insect eating bird for that matter causes there bones become brittle and break as we have been told by wild life and fauna sanctuary’s.
it is very important that if you have a real young bird you need to put a bottle of hot water (we used a plastic coke bottle)wrapped in something as not to burn.warmth is most important for the survival food is second
here is a rearing mix we used
Wamberoo incetivore rearing mix (most important)pet shops
pal puppy food
egg
cheese
weetbix (when abit older) 3-4 mnths
mix with warm water and feed to young every 4 hrs if fledgling
once they learn to feed themselves you can make the mix into pellets for good supplement
we now feed ours still same food but as he is older now we buy meal worms and crickets live he loves them,
i hope this helps
September 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Hi pamela, you are right in saying that, parents do quite often start there young to fly and leave it on the ground to sometimes fend for itself but one is always watching while the other collects food, as i understand from some study’s some flocks there is a matriarc (one mother one father) but many baby sitters too, these baby sitters are not allowed to breed while the matriarc is around unless they ard exiled from the flock to form new grounds and sites
hope this helps
matt/anita
September 20th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
hi harley i don’t reccommend feeding bread in water as bread also have man made preservatives stick to the mix i posted and keep warm when the bird can stand up on his/her haunches(own feet) you can then teach him/her to perch, i hope you realise by hand rearing the magpie it will be with you for life
good luck keep us posted
September 20th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
yeh its pretty young (feathers on its wings, stumpy tail, down on back, stomach and head) and incredibly tame, so although i would love to release it to the wild im aware that ill probably end up with a magpie (which i dont mind at all anyway)
that is, assuming i can keep it alive :S
thanks for that tip on the mince, im not sure when i’ll be able to get some insectivore rearing mix cos im not able to drive, but ill get it asap - any other household foods i can give it?
ill try to keep it warm as well
thanks matt!
where abouts do you live?
September 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
you can try mincing up bugs outside for now as that is its natural food source can you send me a picture to my email address its matthewh2@dodo.com.au that will give us a good indication on age and where it is at for natureing , the only reason we never let ours out is because magpies are very territorial and if you release it it could get killed by others or falcons/hawks etc even cats,
matt
ps make sure you cut the heads off bugs as the can climb back up the birds crop
September 20th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
we live in South Australia near christies beach
September 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
hey
i dont have my camera on me, i lent it to a friend
but heres a photo that looks like mine
http://www.blythwildliferescue.co.uk/spring_patients_08/magpie_fledgling.jpg
and mines slightly younger than this one
http://www.tagr.com.au/multimedia/photos/Magpies/magpie5.jpg
mine can perch (but not very well) and happily sits on my arm/leg while i feed it
ahah bugs are hard to find too
but again thanks for the ‘head’ tip
September 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
and im in victoria, south-east near the beach
September 20th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
harley if you cant get wamberoo rearing mix duck down to your supermarket and buy some pal puppy food to tie you over
it looks like a blacked backed magpie i will send you some photos of ours
regards
matt
September 20th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
To anyone rearing a baby bird that can’t be released to the wild some of these birds need a permit to keep if your wondering, we got one for our magpie and it is free it just covers you from losing your newley loved pet to rspca but also there are guidelines to adhere too and must be obeyed for safety if any questions on raising orphaned magpies please email me at matthewh2@dodo.com.au
regards
matt
September 21st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
matt, do those laws etc. apply in victoria?
September 21st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
hi harley anita here matts wife we are not sure if the laws apply in victoria i would assume they would as the magpie is an australian native animal,i am pretty sure you would have no trouble in getting a permit we just contacted our local council and they set us on the right path, i would give it a little time just to make sure your baby is fine sorry couldnt be more help matt just suggested try your local wild life and fauna but stress to them you wish to keep your baby
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
hi harley how is the magpie doing ?
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
hi trevor, sorry about answering some of these blogs before , but i feel as rearing a baby from a little pink thing to an adult size bird it made me qualify to answer people in need of help hope you don’t mind
regards
matt/anita
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
hey matt and others interested:
day 4 and the magpie is still going strong
eating well, letting me know (loudly) when it wants food, and is completely unafraid of me. sits happily on my arm when im feeding it, and is lively and observant and watches everything tahts going on
ill keep you all updated
the photos didnt come through tho
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
thats great, harley our birds eyes where closed when we got him so he only knows us but does know what he is as he has friends come an visit him when he is in his aviary and the sing together, he also wolf whistles, does police sirens (son plays alot of san adreas) lol
harley can you send me your email address and i will send some pics of when ours was about your age and what he looks like now
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
you can send email privately for return mail if you wish
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
hey trevor do you have some kind of picture blog people can upload photos too ?
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
my email is harleystewart_halasz@hotmail.com
anyone feel free to email me
how do you go about training it?
my magpie’s eyes are well and truly open, but it has no fear and now recognises me i think
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
here is a webpage where you can view timone
http://timonethemagpie.piczo.com
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
oooooh cool
so do you just let it roam all around the house?
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Hi there Matt and Harley. Great to see this exchange of ideas about looking after baby magpies. With the discussion going on between you and others, I almost feel a stranger on my own blog! LOL. Keep it up - it’s great.
Matt - I do have a private photo gallery - the link is on the sidebar and it’s called Photo Gallery (imaginative name heh?) Here is the link:
http://gallery.hampel.com.au/
Unfortunately - because it is a family gallery you would not be able to have access to post photos there. You will have to use the Contact form to send me the photos via email. If suitable, I may upload them to the gallery. The contact form is here:
http://www.trevorsbirding.com/contact/
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
yeah he roams around the house and into everything its like having a child around lol but we love him, he thinks he is the boss of everything and everyone, he thinks he’s human even showers with us he tells you when he wants a shower by squaking at the bathroom door, we turn the shower on a little and he baths in it like a bird bath lol, very cool.
he is a very comical bird and always has us laughing day in day out, the only time he gets annoyed is when you say its bed time i am sure now he understands this word as he heads for the highest put in the room and when anyone tries to get him down he flaps and snaps at them lol, but even magpies have too go to bed, he does get nasty at times when new people come in but we are very careful with them, we know if he likes them, as he will either land on there shoulder and nip there ear or bite at there shoes. however he hates thongs (i have heard of this behaviour before though in magpies) if he does’nt like you he will growl and land on the floor puffed up, wings dropped and walks really slow doin a gangster walk lol, and then you know its not safe, he has a glass of water on the table and a mixture of grubs (meal worms, crickets etc to his liking, we take visits to the vet and he does’nt mind the local pet shop either i have made a web page this evening for anyone who wishes to see him i will post more later, we are so lucky we were given this rare oppurtunity to rear this wonderful and smart bird (human)lol
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
http://timonethemagpie.piczo.com
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
to training a magpie is very difficult as they are there on little character timone just does his own thing but eventually you will become his/her best friend, when they are little and you come in the door they will flap there wings in excitement, as they get older like timone when he see’s me coming from the car he flies franticly around the room and screams and then i get heaps of kisses but remember onced reared by hand at a very young age they are with you for life as they not know the dangers outside
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
oh i almost forgot harley to teach yours to drink what we did was dip timones beak in glass of water, they soon pick it up, as it gets older you can roll up the food mixture i gave you and put it in its beak and they will learn from that, soon he/she will pick food up on its own and swallow ,hope all goes well i hoped you like the web page of timone
September 24th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
yeh the web-page is great
ive got the water, how do you teach it to feed (more detail)?
also what about it pooping all over ur house?
thanks again for all your help
September 25th, 2008 at 10:13 am
hi harley anita here to teach timmone to teach timmone to eat we just rolled his food in little soft pellets and put them in his mouth it takes weeks of persistance but eventually he just started to pick up food .
timmone didnt really start to eat himself til he was flying and pecking at things as for the poop we have wooden floors so that makes the job a whole lot easier, we keep a roll of paper towel handy and a spray cleaner and pretty much as he poops we clean,he does know the word no,for instance he is banned from the tv unit and every time he gets up there he is told no and most times he listens. i will admit its a pain to be on poop patrol but i guess thats the sacrifice we have to make also the biggest poop you will have to deal with is the first one in the morning,timmone has a big cage in the laundry he sleeps in but never does his morning poop in there,he goes to bed at 7:30 at night and usually he starts to tell you to let him out around 7am and without fail he flies out then backs up and poops lol.also i will give you the tip on how we taught him to fly,as he got old enough matt and my son gently let him drop into a bean bag and as he started to use his wings they just got further away from the bean bag now he is an expert at manouvering himself all over the house hope this helps
September 25th, 2008 at 10:20 am
harley also to teach your baby to drink just gently dip his beak in the water once again it will take a while for it to drink itself,with timmone we just put some water on a teaspoon and poured it in after every feed until he learnt to drink himself
September 29th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Hi everyone,
What a heartwarming blog to visit! It is SO good to hear from others who are as crazy about birds and pets as I am.
Last Wed I heard to my absolute delight my first baby maggie of the season food-begging for the first time, and saw the parents going back and forth to feed it my neighbour’s gum tree which hangs over my dogyard fence. I expect you can all guess what occured yesterday, which made me just about weep…. yes, I found baby dead in the dogs yard with parents silently watching from above. Fortunately they had not mauled it and of course I cannot punish them as I didn’t see it happen, I’d been out all day.
Anyhow reading all your lovely comments and stories and advice feels very comforting and it’s nice to have understanding “ears” to blurt to!
Enough mush, now to questions:
Is it likely the parents will breed again this season? They are very quiet, still hanging around the nest site.
Do you think the parents will have learnt that they mustn’t let future babies into the dog’s yard? Or wouldn’t they be able to control where it lands first time it comes down from the tree?
Thanks again for this blog, it is a great place.
Heather.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Welcome to my blog about Australian birds, Heather. Thank you also for your positive comments about this blog. I try to add a new article every day but this year it has not been possible. (At age 60 I’ve returned to full time study at University).
It is quite possible that this pair of magpies will nest again this year. Many magpies will breed a second time during the normal season which can extend from June through to March (normally August to December). They may even reuse the same nest. The pair breeding in our garden are using the same nest for the third year in a row. They usually have two clutches each year.
It is quite unpredictable where a newly fledged baby will fly. If the wind catches it the baby can be blown off course and make a spectacular crash landing somewhere unplanned. It usually takes a few days for them to learn how to control those strange things called wings. Quite often they lack most of the tail too when they leave the nest, so they are almost rudderless as well.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Thanks Trevor.
What are you studying at uni?
I went to uni for the first time in my life at age 42, and got a Bachelor of Music and a Grad Dip in Education. Therefore I believe that if I can do it, anyone can!
September 29th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Hi again Heather.
I retired from primary school teaching a few years ago and have been trying to write full time ever since - a dream from many years ago. Writing my three blogs is a part of that.
This year I decided to do my Master of Arts in Creative Writing. I should finish it next year. While it is very challenging - the standards have risen sharply since I last studied - it is also immensely exciting and stimulating.
Next year I have to write a forty thousand word novel as my thesis. It has to be of publishable standard to pass. So watch this space (or rather watch my blog about writing - http://www.trevorhampel.com/ )
September 30th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Trevor, maybe you can work on the Australian version of The Birds of Telegraph Hill. After all, that book was based on parrots very similar to our Lorikeets. Is it time for this blog to move on from magpies and encompass some of our other avian characters?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Wow Trevor,
Good on you! Hard work yes, but immensely rewarding I imagine. Good Luck and all.
Heather
September 30th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Mac - I try to keep this blog moving in new directions by posting new articles almost every day (when I’m able to) but many of my readers seem to be stuck on baby magpies and annoying blackbirds, not to mention those pesky swooping plovers. I try - really I do.
I have heard of the book and film of The Birds of Telegraph Hill but have not seen either of them. Do you recommend them?
September 30th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Thanks for the encouraging words Heather.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
The book was actually The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I’m not much of a reader (newspapers mainly) but this book charms any bird lover. It’s both an absorbing true-life tale but also an instructional tale on the problems of humanising (anthropomorphising) birds. All readers of this blog will relate to the author’s relationships he developed with ‘his’ flock of wild parrots in San Francisco, but the beauty of this story is that his relationship changed as he gained greater understanding of his impact on the flock.
I suspect reading the book could seed some ideas in your mind Trevor, in terms of directions you can take with your writing. The author not only wrote a best seller on his story and knowledge of the flock (he didn’t even expect to publish), but turned it into a career as it morphed into a movie, website and all sorts of other supporting materials and events. Check out the Wikipedia entry on The Wild Parrots of…. and also see the author’s website http://www.markbittner.net
October 1st, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I am stoked to have come across this website. All the comments and stories of our beloved magpies has me filled with laughter and joy.
I sit here on my computer and look out my window to view my magpies. They are a truely amazing bird.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Greetings from Sanctuary Lakes Point Cook!
Well I have my own baby magpie story. Last night the baby magpie from it’s mallee nest in our street appeared on our back fence. He fluttered and struggled into what looked like his old home, a grafted red gum in our back yard which is about 1 metre high. He settled down for the night but I was terrified of him getting eaten by the neighbour’s cat.
The whole family was out talking and cooing to him, asking him silly questions like “where’s your Mum and Dad?” (No sign of the latter anywhere I might add).
Hubby said no don’t move him back out into his nesting tree, so I set about like some mad witch doctor surrounding the little red gum with citrus peel and eucalyptus wool wash, all things I read on google would deter a cat. Meanwhile “Baby” watched on in quiet interest.
At 5.45am I heard an adult song outside our bedroom window and raced to the window to spy that bloody cat at Baby. I ran down the stairs and out into the backyard, phew, Baby survived the beasties of the night.
I didn’t want to, but decided 40cm from the ground was no perch for a baby magpie so moved the squawking youngster to the fence. Hubby pointed out that this mightn’t be the best place either with the cat around, but I had chased the cat and it knows it is not welcome in our yard.
Baby sat on our fence peering longingly at any bird which flew overhead. After what seemed like an eternity I heard the unmistakeable call of a baby magpie. Baby had managed to walk, fly, scramble across the neighbour’s fences (away from the cat’s yard, luckilly) and was reunited with Mrs Magpie.
PS I did try and feed it (I’m a Mum, thats what we do!) but apparently all I could find was a slice of dinner’s raw fish, needless to say, Baby wasn’t much interested.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Hi Tricia,
I live in point cook as well and I am so pleased to know someone else is looking out for out local magpies as there is so few of them in our area.
As for cats I literally hate them for what they do to our birds and small wildlife, owners should be more responsible and keep them in expecially at night time. I had a little willy wagtail that would visit us at the same times as our maggies (he thought he was a magpie) I think. anyway I havnt seen him for a few weeks now and I blame the owner of 3 cats across the road from us as they are forever stalking the birds which visit me. It makes me so sad to think that should a beautiful brave little bird should meet such a sad end. I only hope that he might have found himself a nice girl to love and grow old with. LOL
October 2nd, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Hello Edna in Point Cook too!
One of the reasons we built in S Lakes was its close proximity to the Cheetham Wetlands. We love bird spotting and are amazed at the variety that passes through our yard. We even had a Superb Fairy Wren nest in our yard and had the privilege of seeing the tiny baby emerge from the nest. I also love the happy willy wagtails, always “shakin their bootee”.
As for “Baby”, well my son spotted him down the road on someone’s balcony rail calling out for food from Mrs Magpie.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Thanks for stopping by Heather, Edna and Tricia, and for leaving your stories. They are great. I hope everyone else is enjoying them too. Look - there’s plenty of room on this blog for more stories.
TOMORROW THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL NEW ARTICLE ABOUT A BABY MAGPIE IN OUR GARDEN - SO STAY TUNED FOLKS.
Tricia - I’m jealous - I would love to have Wrens nesting in my garden. I suppose I can’t have everything.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Hello Trevor and thankyou for a great site. I googled “baby magpie” and your site was just about my first hit.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Hi again Tricia.
It often amazes how close to the top of Google searches some of my articles appear. I guess it just means that there is very little else on the web on this subject. It also means that many people seeking information find what they are looking for.
This just highlights one of the main reasons for keeping this blog going. Primarily I want to share my passion for birds with other bird lovers. But secondary to that is the teacher in me - I just can’t help myself. I want to share my knowledge and experiences with others. It comes from being a teacher for 35 years, I guess.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:36 am
[…] Baby Magpie […]
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
I had an interesting time yesterday watching a family of white-winged choughs at Pound Bend Warrandyte Vic. I was visiting the Landcare nursery at Pound Bend to collect some indigenous plants when I noticed a group of about 10 birds foraging in the leaf litter and grooming themselves beside a dam. I walked over to have a look as I thought they were currawongs but they were quite different. Unlike currawongs they were very tame and flitted around our feet. They were such a delight and I couldn’t wait to get home to read about them in my bird book.
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Thanks for the baby magpie story Trevor, boy that grass looks dry!
I’m not sure if I’ve seen choughs Trudy. After looking them up in my bird book, I’ll try and look out for them.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Trudy and Tricia - you can see articles about choughs here
http://www.trevorsbirding.com/white-winged-choughs-nesting/
http://www.trevorsbirding.com/white-winged-choughs/
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I have just added a new article with photos of the latest baby magpie here:
http://www.trevorsbirding.com/baby-magpie-learns-to-fly-sort-of/
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Hi Trevor,
Just read your story about the baby magpie. Had me laughing for a good hour. I unfortunately live in a little unit with no grass and very little garden. When I moved in I started buying bird seed for the doves. Since doing that I have attracted magpies. I have so many that I cannot keep track of them. As a young adult I had had some attacks from magpies and was until now very very scared of them. I feed them premium mince. Probably should not? I started of by throwing the mince in the air and they would catch it. Now I throw it on the ground (as they sing to me and tell me “Hi I am here, feed me). Some of them are wary of me and there is one who sings to me with harmony and joy. I have a five year old daughter and she is actually now able to hand feed some of them. Her appreciation in mother nature has matured so much from our magpies. I know very little about them and being on this blog is great. Give yourself a pat on the back.
Have a couple of questions. Sorry but as I stated know very little so please be patient.
I feed my magpies budgie seed and premium mince. Is that ok?
Do they attack there young if they are sick?
Are they ones for showing of?
How do I tell a male from a female?
Time for my little Bindi Irwin to have a bath.
Great site
Heather Perth WA
October 5th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
hi Trevor and everyone, well we had an experience the other day with Timmone our white backed magpie, what happened was he was in his aviary out the front singing with some other magpies when the guy around the corner rode past with his dogs off the leash, the dogs took straight to the birds scaring them off and harrasing timmone,
i shot straight out the front yelling at the guy with the dogs that they should be on a leash, my wife told me to bring timmone inside, i opened his gage and he was still very frisky a flew off straight past me
i thought here we go again dad needs to go rescue him i saw him fly up the road with 3 magpies in toe chasing him, i put my shoes on and went out the back only to here magpies singing in our apple tree out the back there they all were, i approached the tree and the wild ones flew off, as i approached timmone calling him some wattle birds thought they would take advantage of this and scared him into flight again, he took off over the house to the paddock with same magpies in toe, they had a little scrap i rushed over to the fence and called him, to my delight and his i imagine timone picked himself up and flew straight to me, i suppose he still needs dads protection, he is home and safe, i have moved his aviary to the back of the house now and as i am writing this blog the magpies are outside his aviary singing with him, i wish he could join them but he not know the dangers that await outside his domain, am sorry timmone but looks like you will be with us forever lol we don’t mind we love him,
ps we dont get many visitors now when timmone is inside though i wonder why lol
October 5th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Heather - while they will eat seed magpies are primarily insectivorous. Try not to use too much mince - as a treat once in a while it’s okay but it lacks many of the things magpies need. They will eat snails, grasshoppers, worms, millipedes, spiders, cockroaches, caterpillars and they will enjoy some fruit like berries.
As a general principle, it is not advisable to put out food every day. Some people say you should never put out food for wild birds. If you do it too much they will become dependent on your food and will not search for themselves. Then if you go away, they could easily starve.
I do not know if they will attack their young if they are sick. Sick young birds are often those that become road kill or are taken by hawks and other birds of prey.
Do they show off? Not sure what you mean or have observed. In birds and all animals, what might appear to us as play is more likely the adults teaching the young various life skills necessary for survival. It may appear to our eyes as fun - for them it could mean the difference between living and dying. However, I do know that when food is plentiful, some parrots - Galahs for example - will indulge in activities which can only be described as play.
It is easy to tell the male from the female in Magpies. In the Perth area where you live the male is glossy black with a white neck while the female is duller with grey scalloping on the back. The immatures are dull grey with more scalloping all over.
It might be worthwhile getting a field guide from the library (or buying one) to see for yourself. I can’t show you on photos on this blog because I do not have photos of the Western Australian variations in markings.
If you buy a field guide it will be of great use in teaching your daughter about our birds. Take her to any park or public gardens or the zoo or down to the river and show her the birds. Then show her the pictures in the guide and read her the information. She will love birds for the rest of her life.