European Magpie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reproduction
In the courtship display,
the males rapidly raise and depress their head feathers, uplift, open and close
their tails like fans, and call in soft tones quite distinct from their usual
chatter. In the display the loose feathers of the flanks are brought over and
the primaries, and the patch on the shoulders is spread so as to make the white
conspicuous, presumably to attract the female eye. Short buoyant flights and
chases are part of the courtship.
Tall trees are selected by
the Magpie for its bulky nest; it is firmly attached to a central fork in the
upper branches. The framework of the sticks is cemented with earth and clay.
and a lining of the same material is covered with fine roots; above is a stout,
though loosely, built dome of prickly branches with one well-concealed
entrance. When the leaves fall these huge nests are plainly visible. Where trees
are scarce, and even in well-wooded country, nests are at times built in bushes
and hedgerows.
The eggs, small for the
size of the bird, number from five to eight, and as many as ten are recorded;
they show much variation in ground and marking, but a usual type is blue-green
with close specks and spots of brown and grey. They are laid in April, and only
one brood is reared unless disaster overtakes the first clutch.
Folklore
A hopscotch
game with the magpie rhyme
- The magpie is common in European folklore.
Generally speaking, the bird is associated with unhappiness and trouble. This
may be because of its well known tendency to "steal" shiny
objects, as well as its harsh, chittering call.
- An old English folk tale states that when Jesus
was crucified on the cross, all of the world's birds wept and sang to
comfort him in his agony. The only exception was the magpie, and for this,
it is forever cursed.
- In Scottish folklore, (in a story possibly
related to the above) magpies were long reviled for allegedly carrying a
drop of Satan's blood under their tongues.
- In both Italian and French folklore,
magpies' penchant for picking up shiny items is thought to be particularly
directed towards precious ones. Rossini's opera La gazza ladra and Tintin
comic Les Bijoux de la Castafiore are based on this theme.
- In Britain and Ireland a widespread
(mainly found in England and Scotland and less common in Wales and Northern
Ireland) traditional rhyme records the myth (it is not clear whether it
has been seriously believed) that seeing magpies predicts the future,
depending on how many are seen. There are many regional variations on the
rhyme, which means that it is impossible to give a definitive version.
The rhyme runs:
One for anger
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for rich
Six for poor
Seven for a witch
I can tell you no more.
Alternate versions of this
counting rhyme include:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
or
One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for a birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven's the Devil his own sel'
Sometimes (but rarely),
three extra lines are added:
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird that you won't want to miss.
or
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a time of Joyous Bliss
as the former is believed
to have been written especially for the television show's credits.
According to Terry
Pratchett:
There are many rhymes
about magpies, but none of them are very reliable, because they are not the
ones the magpies know.
-from Carpe Jugulum
- A related superstition is that one should
make sure to greet magpies - perhaps saying "Hello, Mr Magpie" -
when encountering lone birds; this possibly stems from the unlucky
connotations attributed by the rhymes to seeing merely one magpie. To
cancel out this bad luck, and with relation to the second line of the
verse accounting for joy or mirth, lone magpies are often greeted
"Hello Mr Magpie, how is your wife/where is your wife?" Another
superstition relating to magpies' supposed bad luck is that upon seeing a
lone magpie one should repeat the words "I defy thee" seven
times. Another superstition is that on seeing a lone magpie one should
pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to
pinch themselves. Another is that if a lone Magpie is seen, one should
salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the
Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you.
- In Chinese culture, the magpie is one of
the most popular birds, and is seen as the messenger of good news and
fortune. In fact, its name in Chinese means "bird of joy".
- Magpies also feature in the Chinese
folktale of "The Story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl" (among
others), where they form a bridge for the separated lovers every year on
the day of Qixi.
- A British childrens' TV show called Magpie
featured a theme song based on the "one for sorrow" rhyme, and
featured a large cartoon Magpie as its mascot or logo.
- Two English football clubs, Notts County
and Newcastle United are nicknamed "The Magpies" due to their
black and white striped playing kits. Notts County's club crest depicts a
football on which perch two magpies.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pica pica. 2006
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May
2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of
least concern
- Lee, Sang-im; Parr, Cynthia S.; Hwang,Youna;
Mindell, David P. & Choea, Jae C. (2003): Phylogeny of magpies (genus Pica)
inferred from mtDNA data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29:
250-257. DOI:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00096-4 PDF fulltext
- Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1994): Crows
and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world A&C
Black, London. ISBN 0-7136-3999-7
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Magpie&action=history
Reproduction
In the courtship display,
the males rapidly raise and depress their head feathers, uplift, open and close
their tails like fans, and call in soft tones quite distinct from their usual
chatter. In the display the loose feathers of the flanks are brought over and
the primaries, and the patch on the shoulders is spread so as to make the white
conspicuous, presumably to attract the female eye. Short buoyant flights and
chases are part of the courtship.
Tall trees are selected by
the Magpie for its bulky nest; it is firmly attached to a central fork in the
upper branches. The framework of the sticks is cemented with earth and clay.
and a lining of the same material is covered with fine roots; above is a stout,
though loosely, built dome of prickly branches with one well-concealed
entrance. When the leaves fall these huge nests are plainly visible. Where trees
are scarce, and even in well-wooded country, nests are at times built in bushes
and hedgerows.
The eggs, small for the
size of the bird, number from five to eight, and as many as ten are recorded;
they show much variation in ground and marking, but a usual type is blue-green
with close specks and spots of brown and grey. They are laid in April, and only
one brood is reared unless disaster overtakes the first clutch.
Folklore
A hopscotch
game with the magpie rhyme
- The magpie is common in European folklore.
Generally speaking, the bird is associated with unhappiness and trouble. This
may be because of its well known tendency to "steal" shiny
objects, as well as its harsh, chittering call.
- An old English folk tale states that when Jesus
was crucified on the cross, all of the world's birds wept and sang to
comfort him in his agony. The only exception was the magpie, and for this,
it is forever cursed.
- In Scottish folklore, (in a story possibly
related to the above) magpies were long reviled for allegedly carrying a
drop of Satan's blood under their tongues.
- In both Italian and French folklore,
magpies' penchant for picking up shiny items is thought to be particularly
directed towards precious ones. Rossini's opera La gazza ladra and Tintin
comic Les Bijoux de la Castafiore are based on this theme.
- In Britain and Ireland a widespread
(mainly found in England and Scotland and less common in Wales and Northern
Ireland) traditional rhyme records the myth (it is not clear whether it
has been seriously believed) that seeing magpies predicts the future,
depending on how many are seen. There are many regional variations on the
rhyme, which means that it is impossible to give a definitive version.
The rhyme runs:
One for anger
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for rich
Six for poor
Seven for a witch
I can tell you no more.
Alternate versions of this
counting rhyme include:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
or
One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for a birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven's the Devil his own sel'
Sometimes (but rarely),
three extra lines are added:
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird that you won't want to miss.
or
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a time of Joyous Bliss
as the former is believed
to have been written especially for the television show's credits.
According to Terry
Pratchett:
There are many rhymes
about magpies, but none of them are very reliable, because they are not the
ones the magpies know.
-from Carpe Jugulum
- A related superstition is that one should
make sure to greet magpies - perhaps saying "Hello, Mr Magpie" -
when encountering lone birds; this possibly stems from the unlucky
connotations attributed by the rhymes to seeing merely one magpie. To
cancel out this bad luck, and with relation to the second line of the
verse accounting for joy or mirth, lone magpies are often greeted
"Hello Mr Magpie, how is your wife/where is your wife?" Another
superstition relating to magpies' supposed bad luck is that upon seeing a
lone magpie one should repeat the words "I defy thee" seven
times. Another superstition is that on seeing a lone magpie one should
pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to
pinch themselves. Another is that if a lone Magpie is seen, one should
salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the
Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you.
- In Chinese culture, the magpie is one of
the most popular birds, and is seen as the messenger of good news and
fortune. In fact, its name in Chinese means "bird of joy".
- Magpies also feature in the Chinese
folktale of "The Story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl" (among
others), where they form a bridge for the separated lovers every year on
the day of Qixi.
- A British childrens' TV show called Magpie
featured a theme song based on the "one for sorrow" rhyme, and
featured a large cartoon Magpie as its mascot or logo.
- Two English football clubs, Notts County
and Newcastle United are nicknamed "The Magpies" due to their
black and white striped playing kits. Notts County's club crest depicts a
football on which perch two magpies.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pica pica. 2006
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May
2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of
least concern
- Lee, Sang-im; Parr, Cynthia S.; Hwang,Youna;
Mindell, David P. & Choea, Jae C. (2003): Phylogeny of magpies (genus Pica)
inferred from mtDNA data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29:
250-257. DOI:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00096-4 PDF fulltext
- Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1994): Crows
and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world A&C
Black, London. ISBN 0-7136-3999-7
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Magpie&action=history