Magpie

admin
, 07 November 2018
Magpie
© Roger Wilmshurst

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

The chattering magpie is a bird steeped in magic and superstition.  It supposedly bestows either good or bad luck, depending on how many you happen to see, and you’re probably familiar with one of the many different versions of the traditional nursery rhyme ‘One for Sorrow’.  Seeing just one is usually deemed a bad omen but it’s possible to counter the ill effects of such an encounter by doffing your cap (should you be wearing one), saying good morning and asking ‘how is your wife?’ or bowing three times.  The fortune foretold by more than one magpie varies from mirth to birth, silver, gold, wishes or kisses. 

As a highly social species, it’s not unusual to see a gathering of magpies, known as a parliament, and they often come together to settle territorial disputes or establish a hierarchy – usually making a lot of noise in the process.

The magpie’s voice is a harsh cackle and its name derives from ‘mag’ meaning chatterer, which was added to ‘pie’ in reference to the pied colouration.  The magpie does look black and white at first glance but when its feathers catch the light they glisten with secret shades of peacock blue and emerald green.  Its magnificent tail is extremely long, possibly to assist with balance, and is a reliable way to identify a magpie in flight.  Contrary to popular opinion, ‘thieving’ magpies are not overly fond of shiny objects and may even be scared of them.

All corvids are renowned for their cleverness but the magpie has one of the best brains in the bird world, and its intelligence even rivals that of the great apes.  Magpies recognise themselves in a mirror, something that very few species – and no other bird – can do; they understand cause and effect; they can solve problems and use tools; they can remember ‘what, where and why’ and learn from their experiences; and they are capable of complex social interactions - they’ve even been observed holding ‘funerals’ for dead companions.  Whether they are mourning their loss or simply noting the significance of such an event, there is definitely more to the magpie than first meets the eye.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783371689.54720 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783371689.57220.025Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783371689.57240.0002Server address: 216.73.216.128
1783371689.57240Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783371689.57240Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/magpie
    [s] => magpie
    [1] => magpie
)
1783371689.57270.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.57360.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783371689.57510.0015 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22704742
1783371689.57570.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22704742
1783371689.57640.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-06 21:01:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-06 21:01:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783371689.57750.0011 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='magpie')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 21:01:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783371689.57970.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783371689.58030.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1657 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 21:01:00'
1783371689.58120.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783371689.58170.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783371689.58240.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1783371689.58290.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=45 LIMIT 1
1783371689.58350.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783371689.58370.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783371689.58460.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 21:01:00' AND postSlug='magpie'
1783371689.60520.0206Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783371689.60570.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783371689.60730.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783371689.60750.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783371689.60840.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783371689.60950.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783371689.61240.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.6130.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783371689.61510.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783371689.61510 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.61580.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.61630.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.61870.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.61960.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.62030.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783371689.62260.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.62340.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783371689.62590.0025 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783371689.62640.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783371689.62660.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783371689.62750.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783371689.62790.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='magpie')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-06 21:01:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783371689.630.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783371689.63050.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783371689.63270.0022Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783371689.63360.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1657 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783371689.68830.0547 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783371689.68850.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783371689.68880.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783371689.68960.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783371689.69030.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783371689.69080.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783371689.69290.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.69340.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783371689.69520.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783371689.6960.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783371689.69660.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783371689.6970.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783371689.69920.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.69970.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783371689.70150.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783371689.70450.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783371689.70520.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783371689.70570.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783371689.70790.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.70850.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783371689.71040.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783371689.71290.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783371689.71350.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783371689.71410.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783371689.71620.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783371689.71670.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783371689.71860.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783371689.71970.0012Request time: 0.1737
1783371689.71970Process time: 0.1736
1783371689.71980Memory: 1.6239