Facts, myths and folklore about Magpies

If ever there was a bird that gets a rather bad press but is also steeped in folklore, it has to be the Magpie. This striking and unmistakable member of the crow family has long fascinated people – and not just in the British Isles but across mainland Europe as well.

Of course one of the main reasons why Magpies get that bad press, is because of their habit of taking eggs and fledglings of other species and including songbirds. This has led to the fairly widespread belief that Magpies are partly responsible for the decline in songbirds across the UK, so let’s deal with this key point first.

Whilst at a very local level, and including in gardens, the breeding success of individual songbird pairs can certainly be negatively affected by Magpies, studies have shown that there is no evidence this applies at a much bigger and national level. So no, Magpies are not reducing overall songbird numbers, with the reasons for declines being much more to do with habitat loss and intensive farming.

Related to the misconception of Magpies reducing songbird numbers, is the belief that the number of Magpies continues to grow. Again, this isn’t true and the reality is that the population has stabilised over the last few decades – though it had grown ahead of that, with the recovery starting in the mid-20th century (in part because of slightly less persecution from gamekeepers).

Another popular belief – and one often told to children – is that Magpies have a fascination with shiny objects, and will pick them up and take them back to their nests. Not only is this not true, but actually a study by the University of Exeter showed that Magpies were actually cautious of such objects. This of course begs the question as to where the myth came from, and whilst we can’t say for sure what the origins are, it’s certainly been perpetuated in the arts and most notably Gioachino Rossini’s opera “La Gazza Ladra” (The Thieving Magpie).

Yes! And like all species of the crow family, they are exceptionally smart compared to virtually all other families of birds. This intelligence can be witnessed in gardens, with Magpies showing problem-solving skills to get to bird food.

In very early times, the Magpie was seen as a symbol of intelligence and good fortune, with the Romans admiring the species for its cleverness, while the ancient Greeks saw the species as sacred to Bacchus, the god of wine. However, the Christian church saw Magpies as being essentially evil, and this because they believed it was the only bird not to weep or mourn at the crucifixion of Jesus. This dislike of Magpies grew in Christianity, with another example being the belief that the birds carry a drop of the Devil’s blood on their tongues, then if the tongue was cut then the Magpie would be able to speak like a human (yes, they really did believe that . . . ).

Then there’s the whole bad luck and good luck thing, which is encapsulated in the famous nursery rhyme which goes ‘One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.’

And finally, whatever your views on Magpies are, be it as villains, good guys, bringers of good luck or bad, it can’t be denied that they’re a stunning looking bird, with their distinct long tail and black and white plumage – though a closer look at the black in good sunlight, reveals beautiful iridescent green and blue hues.