Magpies

[Pondman]

Why do we salute magpies, what do we say when we do it and are we the only nation that does this?

[shaneystar2]

All about magpies and folklore

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Magpie

[meltoadhall]

we do?
missed that one, but then i'm a scot and have never heard of saluting magpies.

[RATTER15]

I'm Devonian, I never heard of saluting a Magpie.

Is it just you that has been doing all this saluting LOL, somebody winding you up maybe.

[makemesmile]

I've heard of shooting them...

[Metz]

I'm in Derbyshire and we salute them too

[pamies]

i live in dorset born lanc's we salute 7 times and bid him and his family a nice day you dont have to do this if there are 2 of them

[cherryelm]

Ilive in the northeast and we salute them and say 'good morning mr magpie' It drives my family mad they think it's a little eccentric!!!

[aristotle]

What a bizarre world some of you live in? Why would anybody salute a bird?

[RATTER15]

Im glad I live in Devon, judging by them^^^^^

[Cheekystar]

I was always told to salute and spit at them which i do automatically now... although the spit bit has been forgot

[Eve]

Never heard of it til i moved to Manchester, a friend of mine salutes them every time she sees one and says Good Morning to them and asks how thei kids are!

[louisem06]

We salute them then touch something black and then something white. I was told it brought you good luck!

[CrazyWolfman]

In my experience of them, magpies are about the single most vindictive and destructive little things around. A pair of them will go down a hedgerow and eat / kill / smash up almost every living thing in their path, except perhaps for the hedge itself. I've never heard of saluting them, I'm not really the kind of person who would shoot any animal (although there are some humans who have really asked for it in the past) so all I can say is 'save the cute little birdies, bring back the gyr falcon!'

[CrazyWolfman]

On the other hand I have heard of the 'one for sorrow, two for joy...etc.' rhyme, not that I believe it of course.

[CrazyWolfman]

Frankly though I agree with RATTER15, thank goodness for Devon, England's bastion of sanity.

[yoyoyomz19]

I have always grown up with people around me saluting magpies, alot of them touch wood after. There is also a poem thing sometimes to go with it.