Magpie Couple!

Today was Magpie Day!

Back on August 13th, I blipped a shot of Paladian feeding one of our family of 3 magpies. They come down to look for us by landing on the railing of our deck, and then warbling at us.

Today the 3 of them did something different, as it seems they felt like a mid-morning snack. Accordingly they raided the seeds in the bird feeder which is primarily put out for the cockatoos and other smaller birds. We normally only feed magpies with mincemeat. I immediately spotted them from my position at my desk, which looks out towards the tree with the bird feeder.

The larger bird is the male and we have been feeding him for around 10 years. He has 2 wives that are probably sisters! His original mate disappeared earlier this year, possibly due to old age. None of the photos of the 3 of them together were sharp enough to blip, as they chose not to sit side by side in a row for me for making perfect focus!

The Australian Magpie has a plumage pattern that varies across its range. Its nape, upper tail and shoulder are white in males, grey in females. Across most of Australia, the remainder of the body is black. The eye of adult birds is chestnut brown. Their site is extremely sharp, even more so when they are hungry.
See today's blip of Mr. and Mrs. Magpie in LARGE.

You can see in my MAGPIE DAY BLOG, the 2 photos that just missed out.

Groups of up to 24 birds live year round in territories that are actively defended by all group members. The group depends on this territory for its feeding, roosting and nesting requirements.

Our Aussie magpie often walks along the ground searching for insects and their larvae. Many of them are quite tame and will gladly take handouts from humans. They even venture into open houses to beg for food, and we have had them come in the open window to steal the cat's mince from the inside of the window ledge.