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30-09-2023
Bureau Report + Agencies
SYDNEY/ MELBOURNE: Don’t run. Travel in groups. Carry an umbrella and wear sunglasses on the back of your head.
These are some of the ominous warnings issued in Australia each spring, as magpies and humans begin their annual turf war.
Streets and parks become a battleground, as the birds descending from above and attacking from behind swoop down on anything they fear poses a threat to their offspring.
High up in their nests, they rule over their kingdom with an iron claw, while on the ground, humans dust off their protective hats traditionally a plastic ice cream container and duck for cover.
At times drawing blood, their ambushes can cause serious injuries, and in a handful of cases, death but experts claim magpies are misunderstood and humans are the aggressors and they want you to know peace is possible.
Magpies are arguably the country’s most polarizing bird.
Named after their resemblance to the Eurasian magpie, to which they are not actually closely related, Australian magpies are a protected native species, and to some, a beloved national icon.
Their beautiful warble is a quintessential Australian sound and, as predators of many pests, they are vital to the country’s ecosystems.
They are also incredibly intelligent so smart they have even been caught helping each other unscrew scientific tracking devices and they have also been known to strike up long-term, meaningful friendships with humans.
One Sydney family even credits a rescued chick named Penguin with helping them recover from a catastrophic accident, a heart-warming tale which grabbed global headlines and has since been turned into a best-selling book and a film.
Found in droves all over the country, such is their fan-base that in one 2017 poll magpies were voted Australia’s favorite bird and massive shrines have been erected in their honor in two Australian cities but there are also plenty of people who struggle to get past their dive-bombing antics.
The whir of flapping wings; the glint of a sharp beak in the sun; a flash of their reddish-brown eyes – all enough to strike fear in the hearts of many children and adults alike.
“I am genuinely terrified,” Tione Zylstra tells media.
The 21-year-old’s local train station is vigilantly guarded by a magpie, and during breeding season it plays target practice with her head weekly. (Int’l News Desk)
