For those who’ve not seen them but, you’ve undoubtedly heard them squawking their distinctive “chachacha” from early morning to nighttime, or else hopping about on the bottom scouring for meals and bits and items for his or her huge ball-like nests. Magpies are as a lot part of Beijing because the Forbidden Metropolis and Peking duck. However how a lot do you actually learn about them?
First, there’s the title. In Chinese language, magpies are referred to as 喜鹊 xǐquè, which roughly interprets to “chook of happiness”. It’s believed magpies deliver good luck and fortune. The birds actually have a particular place in Chinese language folklore, being the birds that kind the bridge throughout Qixi Pageant, to reunite two separated lovers.
The magpies you’ll generally see in Beijing are Oriental Magpies. As soon as thought-about a subspecies of the Eurasian magpie, Terry Townshend, a birding knowledgeable and founding father of Birding Beijing, says the chook has just lately been given full species standing by taxonomic authorities.
Oriental Magpies have black and white plumage with barely blue tails, Townshend continues, and are to not be confused with one other Beijing magpie resident – the Azure-winged Magpie, which is grey with a blue tail and black on the pinnacle. There’s additionally a 3rd species that may be discovered within the mountains and bigger parks, the Purple-billed Blue Magpie, which has a spectacularly lengthy tail and vivid crimson invoice.
Townshend provides Oriental Magpies are very adaptable, and are usually present in greater densities round human habitation, as these scavengers are very keen on the meals we throw away. That being mentioned, they aren’t at all times scavengers, however predators as nicely.
Together with consuming absolutely anything they will get their talons or beaks on, Oriental Magpies are identified to sneak into the nests of different birds round spring, stealing eggs or chicks to eat, in accordance with an article on the birds from CGTN. This typically places them at odds with town’s different scavenger birds, carrion crows. You may see the 2 birds scuffling infrequently within the treetops.
Additionally like crows, magpies are extremely good. It’s believed by some researchers that magpies are a number of the most clever of all birds because of them having a brain-to-body mass ratio that’s solely outmatched by people and equal to that of nice apes, in accordance with Encyclopedia Brittancia.
Because of this intelligence, they’ve an fascinating array of habits. They normally forage for meals on the bottom however have been witnessed burying meals for later use, and even holding “funerals” for useless magpies – wherein they’re going to encircle the useless chook and mournfully squawk.
So Beijing’s noisiest chook can also be one in all its smartest, hopping on the treetops and swooping over buildings because it lives amongst us as a scavenger and typically predator. Regardless of all that squawking and ruckus, although, maybe the Oriental Magpie can deliver a little bit luck, too.
What are your ideas on magpies? Seen them round your neighborhood rather a lot? Tell us within the feedback!
READ: Six Frequent Birds You will See (and Hear) in Beijing
Photographs: Unsplash, ebirding.com, Wikipedia