When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we didn’t expect to discover an entirely new social behaviour rarely seen in birds.
It’s not like the Australian magpie isn’t great. Australian magpies are elegant and hyper-smart and we love them. But let’s be honest – they’ve got nothing on the common green magpie when it comes to sheer beauty.
Frugalistas, fomites and fakeaway dinners … wordsmiths are having a field day. Lexicologist Dr Adam Smith looks at the colourful, inventive language of social crisis.
Bird photographer Sandy Goddard spotted the oddly patterned magpie near Geelong, Victoria.
We already knew that magpies were smart but now we know exactly how their intelligence has evolved.
Look to the skies: the season of swooping birds is upon us again.
While they’ve lived among us for decades, these timid but intelligent birds are only just making Aussie cities their home.
A magpie in Gladstone has caused serious eye injuries after swooping an eight-year-old boy.
Don’t waste your time worrying about crocs, snakes and spiders – of all Australia’s fauna, magpies cause the most injuries.