Many people know magpies, and confusing it with another bird is very difficult. An article about her has written a lot of interesting things. From it it will become clear to you: magpie is a migratory bird or not. Describes the appearance of magpies living in our area, lifestyle and much more. The topic of a bird living in Europe is slightly touched.
Magpie: bird description and appearance
Our magpie is called white-sided because of its interesting color. Her tummy and some of her wings are white, and the bird itself is black. In some ways, it is similar to a crow and a daw. But she has a beautiful, long and even tail, which is also black.
Depending on how the light falls, the bird shimmers with blue, violet and greenish shades. But after spring molting, they disappear. This is especially reflected in males. They in late spring, this overflow is almost invisible. But after some time a new plumage appears, and the feathers begin to sparkle as before.
The magpie has a size of almost half a meter. The wingspan reaches 90 centimeters. The tail of the magpie is stepped and longer than the body itself. Males are much larger than females, although they do not even differ in color and appearance.
The bird cannot be confused with any other. In addition to a beautiful and interesting color, she has a peculiar voice. Specific sounds are heard in it: "cha-cha-cha". If forty is alarmed by something, then these sounds are pronounced very quickly and often. But when everything is calm, you can hear a slow chirping. Complex trills of females and males are heard during courtship. They are like singing, sometimes interrupted by cries.
Relations between female and male
Magpies differ from many other birds in their relationships. This is especially noticeable during courtship. Magpie is a monogamous nature. Accordingly, the families of these birds form monogamous. But almost a third of these families break up. And the reason for the "divorce" is the mercantile nature of the forty. Another very significant reason for the "termination" of their relationship is the living space. In general, everything is like people have.
Lifestyle forty
Magpie is a bird, careful, it is afraid of a dense forest, therefore, it selects safe areas for nesting. He likes to settle close to people's houses. She also chose small forest plantations, copses, parks, gardens, dense alleys. Birds desperately protect their tree with a nest from relatives. This is because they have a lot of competition for good living space. Usually a couple chooses trees with thick crowns for nesting. This provides them with protection and safety. But if for some reason it was not possible to occupy such a tree, then this is fraught with the collapse of the family. So you have to vigilantly guard your territory.
Like a person, not many get prestigious apartments. Those who did not manage to occupy the dense thickets of trees huddle for some time on the outskirts. Sometimes they nest on solitary trees, which does not provide the magpies and their offspring with proper security.
If a successful replacement for this housing is not in the near future, then such a “marriage”, even the strongest, is doomed to failure. It also happens that in a family that occupied a decent living space, one of the forty spouses dies. Then the losers hastily without any hesitation occupy a decent apartment. They expel a widow or widower from their nest. They are not even bothered by the presence of chicks. They simply throw away other people's nests, and build new ones in their place.
Magpie is a bird that builds interesting and complex nests. The base is made of thick branches, and the outer part is coated with clay with the addition of grass. Inside, the bottom is covered with thin twigs. Of the same components, forty masters a kind of roof over their nest. It mainly serves to disguise the attack of a predatory beast on housing. Thus, the birds are trying to protect themselves and their family. But this roof does not provide protection against rain and snow. This is such a complex house for forty. What kind of bird can make such intricate nests? Only a few.
In appearance, the magpie nest resembles a kind of ball. The side of the bird makes a hole. It serves as the entrance to the "apartment". One nest on the tree does not cost, next to the pair is building another. After the construction of the second dwelling, forty settles in the best of them. And what I didn’t like is idle all my life. But another pair is not allowed to move into it. However, other large birds, such as owls, are quite calmly settled there.
Magpie is a bird with a rather vile character. She calmly leaves for another partner with a good living space, thereby betraying her soul mate. Scientists have recorded that the offspring of such individuals are considered more viable and numerous than those of forty faithful to each other.
A little bit about European magpie
In addition to the usual, there is the so-called European magpie. Outwardly, it is identical to ours. That's just her habitat is different. European Magpie lives throughout Europe - from Greece to Scandinavia. She also took a fancy to North Africa. It is found exclusively in the coastal areas of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. A small population of forty can be found in Kamchatka. But in the northwestern part of Kyushu, the population of these birds is listed in the Red Book. There they are a natural monument.
Nutrition
Forty have no particular dietary preferences. They are absolutely omnivorous birds. They feed on both small mammals and insects. Magpie is a bird that is prone to eating alien chicks and eggs. It happens that she steals bones from dogs and cats. Often birds enclose fields and gardens and thereby spoil the crop. They also feed on small rodents. Thanks to its powerful beak, the magpie tears the victim to pieces, holding the carcass itself with one paw. The beak also helps her easily break eggs. She will never remain hungry thanks to her quick wits and dexterity.
Sedentary lifestyle
Many have a logical question: is magpie a migratory bird or not? Due to the fact that she never leaves herself hungry, she does not need to fly to other lands. She eats to everyone. Physically, the bird is prepared by nature so as to withstand even severe frost. She leads a sedentary lifestyle. An exception is magpie, which lives in the vastness of Scandinavia. Only she is looking for more favorable conditions for wintering.
Conclusion
Magpie is a highly intelligent bird. She knows how to express her sadness. Magpie is the only bird that can recognize itself in the mirror. There were such cases that in captivity she even started talking in human-readable words. This bird has an interesting character trait: it attracts everything that glitters. She picks up her find, and then hides it well. Also, the bird attracts attention with its family relationships. Quarrels of two forty resemble human ones. They have family problems, as we do.