Magpies

[scooping]

Just saw a very curious thing. Put some bread out for the birds. Several magpies arrived. When I looked again four of them were attacking another, pecking it in the breast. After a minute or so the attackers flew off. The victim lasted a few more minutes and then died.

[Ann]

How absolutely awful to see scooping, Glad it didn't happen in my garden, how sad.

[Ann]

Not that I like magpies though, I always chase them off, as they attack the baby blackbirds.

[boxtops]

My neighbour told me that a moorhen was running up our road yesterday, pursued by a magpie. I can only think that it was seized from the nearly river and then the magpie dropped it. I do hope it got away..

[tonyav]

Nasty birds, magpies. A group of around four or five of them attacked our cat a few years ago, the only reason I can think of for this is that our cat is also Black and White.

[Brinjal]

Have also had that with the pied crows that we get here tonyav. They have had had a go at my black and white cat on a number of occasions. Horrid things.

[carolegif]

They have magpie courts, where a group of them attack another. Happened in our street a few years ago, they pecked one until it died.

[scooping]

Thanks guys. The idea of Magpie Courts is chilling.

[jomifl]

Cat kills bird, purrfectly natural. Bird attacks cat, horrid nasty bird.

[RATTER15]

Boxy, I have never heard of a magpie picking up a living bird, nestlings maybe, but not one of that size, impossible I would have thought.

[Ratty2E]

A couple of days ago I heard a commotion in the garden and went out to see a magpie with a beak full of small brown bird (probably a dunnock). Another brown bird was jumping about on the fence screaming at it then persued it onto a neighbouring roof only to back off when the Magpie proceeded to disembowel the first bird sending down clouds of feathers. The second bird sat in a tree 'sobbing' for quite a while after and it was rather disturbing to see. It is nature and the Magpie has to eat and feed it's young just as the cuter smaller birds do, no one seems to be bothered about the worms and grubs they rip from the ground. Cats killing birds is something else all together.