The "thieving" magpie also deserves a place in our garden. We reveal everything about the young magpies, males and females and show where the bird breeds and what magpies eat.
Mean, thieving, rapacious - this is how the magpie (Pica pica) is often portrayed. The corvids are extraordinarily intelligent and anything but malicious. They show a very complex social behavior and can even distinguish individual individuals from each other. These qualities, as well as the ability to find hidden food, only underline the intelligence and high development of magpies. In Asia, the elegant birds are even considered lucky charms and in Native American cultures as spiritual beings that are connected to humans. You can find more exciting information in our large profile, which puts old prejudices in a new light and explains everything you need to know about the magpie.
Magpie: profile with characteristics of the nest robber
| Size | Up to 51 cm |
| Weight | About 200 - 230 g |
| Incubation | April - June |
| Lifetime | Up to 15 years |
| Habitat | Open landscapes, forests, parks, settlements |
| Food | Omnivores: insects, amphibians, mice, fruits, carrion, seeds etc. |
| Threats | Hunting and poisoning by humans |
How to recognize the magpie
Magpies are unmistakable with their black and white plumage, metallic blue detailing, and long, dark, glossy green tail. Even as a layman, the magpie cannot be confused with any other bird, which is why these corvids are a very good introduction to bird watching. Unfortunately, male and female magpies do not differ from each other visually.
What does magpie singing sound like?
The song of the magpie consists of a throaty chatter without structure and is only veryrarely heard. You can recognize the intelligent raven bird much more clearly by its call. This sounds like a hotter, quick "Cha-ka!" and becomes wild and loud when there is danger: "Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha".
You can find a recording of the Elster call here:
How do you recognize a young Magpie?
Young magpies already look very similar to their adult role models and can therefore be clearly identified very early on. The young birds differ from the adults in a few details: the tail is shorter, the white elements on the shoulders and belly are often a bit dirty gray and the plumage still lacks the metallic sheen for the most part.
What does a magpie egg look like?
Magpies usually lay between four and seven eggs in a nest made of twigs, roots and twigs. The nest hollow is padded with leaves, grass or clay in front of it. The eggs themselves are up to 3.4 centimeters in size, pale green in color and dotted with darker, olive green to brown speckles.
Which habitat does the magpie prefer?
Magpies are very diverse when it comes to choosing their habitat. They inhabit forest edges and open, structured landscapes, settlements and city outskirts, parks and gardens. But they also occur in smaller forest areas and even in mountainous regions. Breeding pairs vehemently defend their territories against competitors and attackers. Unmated birds, on the other hand, often gather in smaller groups, foraging together and forming roosting groups.
Where does the magpie build its nest?
The parents build their nests together in tall trees. The spherical construct of branches can be up to 80 centimeters tall. A hood-like structure is often placed over it to protect the nest from birds of prey and other predators. If the nest that has been started is conquered by birds of prey, destroyed, or if the magpies feel disturbed in their nest-building in some other way, they give up the nesting site and start over at a different place.
When is the magpie breeding season?
Magpies breed between April and June. During this time, they usually only raise a single brood. However, if the first clutch is lost, a second or even third attempt may follow. The incubation period is 17 to 22 days, during which the female incubates the eggs alone and the male with foodcared for, guarded and defended. After hatching, the young birds are fed in the nest for 30 days. Then they undertake their first explorations outside the nest, but remain in the immediate vicinity. Only after another two weeks do the young magpies begin to look for food on their own. However, the caring parents support their young in feeding for up to eight weeks after fledging.
Where does the magpie spend the winter?
Magpies are considered resident birds throughout Europe, which means that they also spend the winter in their breeding grounds. Unlike during the breeding season, however, the birds do not travel in individual breeding pairs in winter, but in smaller and larger flocks of up to 50 birds, which form sleeping communities and go together in search of food. Magpies also set up food hiding places all year round, which they can feed on during the poor winter months.
Supporting the magpie in the garden: How it works
Even though magpies are extremely intelligent creatures and generally know how to help themselves, they sometimes run out of food in winter too. Here you can find out how you can help the elegant birds during the poor season and how you can support the magpie throughout the year.
What do magpies eat?
Magpies are veritable omnivores and therefore eat both plant and animal food. Their food spectrum ranges from insects, worms and spiders to smaller vertebrates such as amphibians, voles, young birds and eggs to fruits and seeds. They look for food on the ground, under leaves or in low grass. But more advanced ways of acquiring food are also possible, for example turning stones in search of insects or raiding other birds' nests together - in search of nestlings, eggs or prey of birds of prey.
Magpies also like to use bird feeders, especially in winter. They are not particularly choosy and use pretty much any litter food. However, they particularly like to eat larger seeds, such as sunflower seeds. You can do something good for the intelligent birds with our Plantura loose feed for wild birds, because it contains high-energy sunflower seeds, peanuts, hemp seeds and many other he althy seeds.
Which nesting aids are suitable for magpies?
Magpies can only do this with classic nesting boxesstart nothing. They prefer to build their bulky nests themselves. If you still want to support the birds in their endeavor, you can create suitable nesting sites, for example by not cutting back trees too much. The magpies like to use highly branched and high treetops as nest sites. And if there are branches and other clippings in your garden, leave them in an undisturbed place. Such building material is always needed in the spring and serves as additional protection for numerous smaller garden dwellers in the winter.
How can you support the Elster?
Magpies like to forage for food in short grass or lawns. Such an open space can therefore be quite useful in the garden. Blackbirds and other thrushes also use these structures to search for worms and insects in the soil. But beware: A beautiful green lawn is by no means a guarantee for a vital garden life. Therefore, do not use chemical sprays and do not cut your lawn too often and not too short to provide animals with a habitat and to protect the soil from drought in summer. And if you want to provide extra life underground, you can enrich your soil with our organic soil activator. This promotes an active and he althy soil life in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Your plants will be just as happy about this as the birds, who can once again forage for food in the he althy soil.
When the magpie is not a welcome guest in the garden
Often, magpies are not given a friendly welcome in the garden. Their reputation for stealing other baby birds, competing for food with their parents, and destroying our laborious vegetable patches has long preceded them. For this reason, the corvids are still being hunted, poisoned and wantonly driven away. In fact, studies show that magpies do no lasting damage to our songbird populations. The occasional nest robbery is part of the natural food chain and is also committed by many other animals, for example jays, martens or domestic cats. Today's songbirds are much more concerned with the increasing loss of food and nesting opportunities due to the intensification of our agriculture and the use of toxic pesticides.
Note: By the way, it's a myth that magpies like shiny objects and steal them on purpose. researchers havefound out that the clever birds are not particularly interested in trinkets or aluminum foil. It happens, of course, that instead of nuts, magpies carry away small objects: based on these observations, people quickly developed a prejudice. However, these cases remain an exception. In studies, magpies have even behaved critically towards foreign objects
So think carefully about whether the magpie in your garden is really a disruptive factor or whether you are just clinging to old prejudices. And also keep in mind that as a private individual you do not have the right to destroy a magpie nest or actively attack the birds. If the animals really bother you, it is better to practice prevention than confrontation. Make sure there is no food lying around in the garden that attracts the magpies. If you are worried about your freshly sown bed, then cover it with a close-meshed net. And if you want to offer your songbirds a little more protection, you can rely on thorny and densely growing shrubs for the little birds to find shelter in.
If the magpie aroused your interest in feathered visitors to the garden, then take a look at our bird portraits of yellowhammers, redstarts & Co.