Teakdoor Twitchers Society

[Looper]

The butcher birds had a long conversation with each other while they were taking turns at the sausage bits today. Nice to feel them getting more relaxed in my presence. But they took flight at the sight of the new fella on the block...

Look at the raptor talons on this bad boy...

He was too cautious for hand feeding (and so was I, I think). He is not a Magpie as Reddog will tell you despite his black and white markings. He is in fact a Currawong and a magnificent bird he is

The Butcher Birds were at the back of the line perched on the fence while this monster had his fill

Hope to see him again but I am not sure about the wisdom of trying to hand feed this fella!

[Looper]

A timely magpie article from the BBC.

But with a forest full of butcher birds and currawongs I think I have yet to encounter an actual magpie on my turf.


Magpie swooping: How polarising bird terrorises suburban Australia

Don't run. Travel in groups. Carry an umbrella and wear sunglasses on the back of your head.

These are some of the ominous warnings issued in Australia each spring, as magpies and humans begin their annual turf war.

Streets and parks become a battleground, as the birds - descending from above and attacking from behind - swoop down on anything they fear poses a threat to their offspring.

High up in their nests, they rule over their kingdom with an iron claw, while on the ground, humans dust off their protective hats - traditionally a plastic ice cream container - and duck for cover.

At times drawing blood, their ambushes can cause serious injuries, and in a handful of cases, death.

But experts claim magpies are misunderstood and humans are the aggressors.

And they want you to know peace is possible.
Brainy birds

Magpies are arguably the country's most polarising bird.

Named after their resemblance to the Eurasian magpie, to which they are not actually closely related, Australian magpies are a protected native species, and to some, a beloved national icon.

Their beautiful warble is a quintessential Australian sound and, as predators of many pests, they are vital to the country's ecosystems.

They are also incredibly intelligent - so smart they have even been caught helping each other unscrew scientific tracking devices - and they have also been known to strike up long-term, meaningful friendships with humans.

One Sydney family even credits a rescued chick named Penguin with helping them recover from a catastrophic accident, a heart-warming tale which grabbed global headlines and has since been turned into a best-selling book and a film.

The magpie that saved a family

Found in droves all over the country, such is their fanbase that in one 2017 poll magpies were voted Australia's favourite bird and massive shrines have been erected in their honour in two Australian cities.

Yanni Pounartzis' Big Swoop sculpture in Canberra

But there are also plenty of people who struggle to get past their divebombing antics.

The whir of flapping wings; the glint of a sharp beak in the sun; a flash of their reddish-brown eyes - all enough to strike fear in the hearts of many children and adults alike.

"I am genuinely terrified," Tione Zylstra tells the BBC.

The 21-year-old's local train station is vigilantly guarded by a magpie, and during breeding season it plays target practice with her head weekly.

"They're silent killers… I'll just see this shadow over my head getting bigger and bigger and bigger."

"I have asthma and I would be sprinting, having an asthma attack on the train, just to get away from this magpie.

"I don't know why it hated me, but it did… I never did anything wrong, I swear!"
Why do magpies swoop?

Australians are well accustomed to swooping birds - there's plovers, noisy miners and even the kookaburra.

But magpies are considered the ultimate "swoopy boy" and few people are without a story.

Only a very small portion of male magpies engage in the practice though, and when they do, it's to protect their nests during breeding season, from August to November.

Experts say they do not swoop unprovoked.

But they also say magpies can interpret simple gestures like running through their territory as a slight, and not only can they recognise individual faces - they tend to hold a grudge.

"Let's say you've shown some kind of response by waving your arms or trying to hit the bird away from you," says animal behaviourist and Emiritus Professor Gisela Kaplan, who literally wrote the book on magpies.

"That act is a declaration of open war. A magpie interprets that as a sign of aggression and will then always swoop that person from then on, every year.

"[And] somebody of a similar build, a similar height and hair colour may get mistaken in their fury, or anxiety."

Children at a Newcastle school pictured with their magpie hats in 1984

They have also been known to pre-emptively target cyclists and children because they don't trust them - cyclists because "magpies think as little of covered faces as people in banks do of [those] in balaclavas", and children because they are "less reasonable and may be a greater risk", Prof Kaplan says.

For most people who are hit by magpies, it is a cut or scratch.

But they have been known to blind some - in the last fortnight a cyclist made the news after revealing a serial dive-bomber had left him needing major surgery and a prosthetic eye lens.

"This bird turned around and went straight for the eye, did a backflip and hit me right in the eye again," Christiaan Nyssen said.

And in 2021, a baby was killed when her mother fell during her efforts to dodge a magpie - a case that horrified the country.

Two years earlier an elderly man died of head injuries after crashing his bicycle while fleeing an attacking magpie, and in 2010 a 12-year-old boy was hit and killed by a car in similar circumstances.

Serious injuries and deaths are rare though. What is far more common is human aggression towards the birds.

In May a Victorian man was fined after killing four magpies and injuring another two so seriously they were euthanised. And almost every year, wildlife officers report finding birds pierced with arrows, shot with guns, set on fire, shackled with chains, poisoned, or mutilated.

'Problem' birds are also sometimes killed by authorities, and in 2021 one Sydney council conducted a general cull of the birds after a spate of incidents.
How to make peace

A magpie warning sign in Brisbane

Animal behaviourists say the magpie is misunderstood, and there's no need for them to be harmed. It is our fear and response to them that is dangerous.

Yes, there are a very small number of "rogue" birds which have become aggressive - radicalised by interactions with humans - says Prof Kaplan. They should be "dealt with firmly".

But the vast majority of magpies are reasonable creatures, she insists.

The best thing to do is avoid them. Authorities often erect signs, warning of magpies in the area, and some states have even launched apps designed to track sightings of nests.

If you are swooped, don't run, or fight back, experts advise. If you're on a bike, get off it. Stay calm and walk quickly through the area. Shelter under an umbrella or hold your backpack over your head.

The use of protective gear is also encouraged, like sunglasses and magpie hats.

Traditionally, they have been a plastic ice-cream containers - with eyes drawn or stuck on - or a helmet laced with zip ties. In recent years though, they've become more elaborate. For example, contraptions rigged up with party poppers or adorned with a fake magpie.

Magpie swooping: How polarising bird terrorises suburban Australia - BBC News

[misskit]

Your new bird friend looks similar to a crow. Good looking bird. Hope you convince him to be a regular visitor.

In the US there are mockingbirds that attack people. They are small and can’t hurt you but make you hurt yourself trying to get away.

[Edmond]

The use of protective gear is also encouraged

Strewth!

Bladdy Australia.

Where a tiny little spider holds enough venom to sink an aircraft carrier.

If it isn't the snakes, spiders, jellyfish or dropbears, it's the fuxin' magpies doing Stuka dive bombs on ya.

[david44]

mockingbirds

is it a crime to kill a mocking bird even if PHUKETBOUND?

The Magpie is a beautiful creature just wear e fencing visor, a Prince Alberts ring in your nose and carry a cutlass you'll be right as rain

[reddog]

I have a pair of Pied Currawongs living near me, friendly but keep a bit of a distance when you feed them.
Have a pair of Magpies who nest in a tall Gumtree near me.
I like to stand on the footpath opposite sometimes to watch him divebomb high school kids and
Lycra clad window lickers(cyclists),he does not hit ,just a few mill over the head is enough
for the worthy victim to run off.I feed the family and never get attacked, they remember you for a long time, great birds.

[cyrille]

I have a pair of Pied Currawongs.

You can get some ointment for those, apparently.

[Shy Guava]

There's talk in Brisbane of a Magpie Massacre tomorrow.

[reddog]

The Magpies around my area told me they want those blow-ins to piss off back to Melbourne
with their tail between their legs,a disgrace to the name.

[mikenot]

Magpies are a protected species, especially the Maynard and Daicos varieties.

I'm sure these last few comments will confuse the heathens.

[Looper]

Your new bird friend looks similar to a crow. Good looking bird.

Currawongs, magpies and butcher birds all look a bit crowish but DNA analysis shows them to be a different lineage from Corvids and all 3 belong to a separate single family called Cracticinae with Pelltops being the only other member.

The 4 Cracticids diverged from each other between 10 and 30 million years ago.

magpies doing Stuka dive bombs on ya

I have been swooped by miner birds trying to get me to drop my sandwich in Sydney but never by a magpie

[Looper]

Chop fuckin chop with the chopped sausage or we will scratch up the motor with our claws

And then shit on it

I don't know what kind of bird this is

He is large like the size of a raptor with raptorish plummage but the beak is wrong.

He was walking around on the driveway today so seems like a forager

[DrWilly]

There's talk in Brisbane of a Magpie Massacre tomorrow.

Sadly didn’t happen. Glad I’m not in Melbourne today.

[Hugh Cow]

Congrats to the pies. They had a bit of luck on the way but few teams can say they were easily the best side over the year. In most cases the winner gets a little rub of the Green. I wanted Brisbane to win but I think Pies deserved it.
Now I can get on with the serious business of my team getting back to the top next season.

[reddog]

Looper, that is a Pheasant Coucal,a type of Cuckoo but raises its own young.
They are ground feeders and nest in long grass and bushes.
If you see a cat getting around your place, put a contract out on it.

[Looper]

^Thank you RD. Quite an unusual and striking bird.

The butcher birds had their feed but were not the only feathered acquaintances afoot in the forest today... This fella was keeping lookout.

While his mate raped and pillaged my succulents!

He spotted me and went for the safety of the railing.

And then continued his feast right in my face.

[david44]

Wonderful a life full of birds you are living the dream

[Shutree]

The butcher birds had their feed but were not the only feathered acquaintances afoot in the forest today... This fella was keeping lookout.

Impressive aviary you have there.

Locally to me the bird life has been sparse recently, I don't know where they have all gone. We used to have many Chinese pond herons nearby then they all disappeared. I put this down to an absence of Chinese ponds. For months and months not a single one was to be seen. Then, following the recent rains, I saw several scattered about the place on this morning's walk. They are not migratory although Wiki says: "The species is prone to some vagrancy."

I have no picture so I'll borrow one from the Internet:

[Shutree]

A couple of times recently I have seen a pair of Red-billed blue magpies in the garden. Attractive birds. I thought they'd fit well into Looper's thread. However, they stay hidden in the foliage of the taller trees so, again, no pics. I'll raid t'Internet again.

[BLD]

No shortage of ibis where I live , indeed the whole city's full of them. They are known as bin chickens, not very tasty either I'm told

[dirk diggler]

No shortage of ibis where I live , indeed the whole city's full of them. They are known as bin chickens, not very tasty either I'm told

Do you get many of these noisy, spooky, polo-eyed bastards around your gaff? These things were rife in Northbridge when I used to live there.

They had a deathly cry about them



The Australian Raven

[Looper]

^^^A beauteous and exotic magpie of sorts Shu.

^They have a blood-curdling death-rattling caw those ravens

I hear them more often than I see them


I saw this fella while out on my bike ride today

A male Forest Kingfisher watching the water surface ripples like a hawk

[dirk diggler]

Still, they aren’t as bad as Aberdeen Seagulls.

[BLD]

Do you get many of these noisy, spooky, polo-eyed bastards around your gaff? These things were rife in Northbridge when I used to live there.

They had a deathly cry about them



The Australian Raven

Yes those Koontz also, evil bastards of birds , fuck them

[BLD]

I quite enjoy yangon but the persistent memory of the place is the bloody noise there fucking crows made.