What does a magpie in the garden mean?

Even if you are often told the opposite, magpies in the garden are not a bad omen. Read here what a magpie in the garden means for this habitat.

Looks

The magpie (Pica pica) is predominantly found in populated areas such as towns and villages. It prefers overgrown areas in a garden or forest, but is increasingly found in sparse regions.

Their external characteristics are:

• Plumage: Brilliant black-blue coloring with a white tail
• Size: 40 to 50 centimeters tall
• Wingspan: 50 to 60 centimeters wide
• weight: 180 to 250 grams in weight

A notice: In this country, magpies are considered bad luck because of their black color, as they are seen as messengers of misfortune. In Asia, on the other hand, the birds are considered true lucky charms and are a welcome guest.

nutrition

Magpies are omnivores and are therefore not very picky about their food choices. The native birds often do without purely plant-based food.

Favorite foods include:

• small insects
• be crazy
• carrion
• Waste
• small birds
• (bird) eggs

It is that black and white bird it doesn't matter whether he had to capture the food himself or stole it from another animal. Some of the feed is usually consumed directly, but the majority is stored for the time being. For this purpose, the captured food is mainly buried in holes in the garden to protect it from loss.

Harmful images and behaviors

In urban areas, the magpie is increasingly using existing waste as food. It is therefore mainly found near landfills, but also in garbage cans. The very intelligent animals also have the ability to open closed garbage cans and help themselves to their contents.

In rural regions, where the supply of human waste is less pronounced, the magpie primarily hunts small animals. This manifests itself, among other things, in destroyed breeding grounds and hollowed-out eggshells. Eating other small animals like snails, spiders and beetles are of less importance.

A notice: The widespread misconception that magpies primarily steal objects that are shiny and shiny has not been proven true in several studies. The captured items were selected at random and used primarily for nest building.

expel magpies

If you have a magpie in the garden, it may mean one Danger for smaller songbirds. However, like many other bird species, magpies should not be killed without good reason. This restriction serves to preserve the species and to regulate the biological balance. Nevertheless, you have some measures available to stop the animals.

This includes:

• cover potential food sources (compost heaps and garbage cans).
• Reduce opportunities for retreat in trees and bushes by pruning
• encourage natural enemies (dogs, cats, larger birds of prey).

A notice: In spite of their predatory nature, magpies are generally of no greater importance when populations of other animal species are dwindling. These often result from changed environmental conditions and insufficient adaptation of the individual species.

frequently asked Questions