A magpie's defensive behaviour can range from a non-contact swoop with or without beak snapping, through to pecking, dive-bombing and sometimes front-on attacks from the ground. A few attacks are more serious leading to bloodied ears and cheeks or even eye injury.
Magpies who swoop from the back wound people much more rarely than those which attack head on, when horrific injuries including eye damage can be inflicted. But there are ways to mitigate the risk.
“Only 10 per cent of the male magpies actually swoop people and the research suggests it is actually a learned behaviour,” Dooley says. “These birds might have had a bad experience with humans in the past, and they remember that and swoop when humans come near their nest.”
If a magpie tries to swoop you, bend your elbow and bring your forearm close to your head to protect your face. Once your eyes are covered, look down and walk away calmly. Cyclists should also dismount their bikes and proceed on foot through a magpie's attack zone.
Remember, magpies are simply trying to protect their territory. Stay calm, protect your face and walk away quickly. A magpie may become aggressive towards people because it has been harassed in the past.
founder Jon Clark also recommends keeping calm in the face of magpie mobbing: “Try and keep eye contact with the birds, that works more often than not—especially if you're walking or running,” he says, “If one swoops and you turn and look at it, keep your eye on it and edge out of its territory.
Magpies swoop in spring
During this time, they will defend their nests and chicks, but also defend their surrounding territory. Male adults are using their body language – beak clapping, whooshing above your head and screeching – to warn you to keep away from their eggs or newly-hatched chicks.
A magpie's defensive behaviour can range from a non-contact swoop with or without beak snapping, through to pecking, dive-bombing and sometimes front-on attacks from the ground. A few attacks are more serious leading to bloodied ears and cheeks or even eye injury.
They will attack anything they consider to be a threat – from a sparrow to a dog to a human. The good news is that an individual magpie will swoop for only about six weeks until their chicks are fledged and leave the nest. Interesting fact: It's true, magpies remember your face.
Deterrents for magpies
Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the predators away. Magpies don't like the way light reflects from the surface. GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon, available from Dazer UK.
In an example of “the perfect revenge,” Eurasian magpies are ripping anti-bird barbs off buildings and using them to build armored nurseries for their chicks.
Like dogs, magpies seem to sense fear and will capitalise on it by pressing an attack. In a strike attack, a magpie swoops, hovers momentarily and then strikes. The fluttering of wings as the bird hovers is usually sufficient warning for adults and older children to duck their heads and avoid the attack.
Aside from their overactive sense of danger, magpies are fairly intelligent birds which can recognise and remember human faces, and won't attack people they don't consider threats. As such, some experts suggest offering edible tributes to your local avian bully, so it will learn your face and know you come in peace.
Only around 10% of breeding males swoop humans, and most don't actually come close to making physical contact. The majority of reported human injuries occur indirectly, such as when someone crashes their bike after being startled by a swooping magpie. Some magpies see humans as a threat – and for good reason.
Magpie attacks occur in most parts of Australia, though Tasmanian magpies are much less aggressive than their mainland counterparts. Magpie attacks can cause injuries, typically wounds to the head.
A key reason why friendships with magpies are possible is that we now know that magpies are able to recognise and remember individual human faces for many years. They can learn which nearby humans do not constitute a risk. They will remember someone who was good to them; equally, they remember negative encounters.
Basic prevention tactics include carrying an open umbrella, or wearing sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat. It's also safer to travel in groups, as magpies prefer to swoop on lone people. If you can spot where the nest is, be sure to move away from it – but not too quickly.
Magpies can remember faces and hold grudges. Researchers in Brisbane, Australia have found that magpies will remember facial features and target those individuals. The research involved an individual in a mask, coming close enough to nests to make the magpies feel threatened.
If a magpie has ever swooped on you, you might find this next part hard to believe. It turns out magpies can and do, form friendships with humans – and not just when they want food.
But a magpie "will only swoop when he doesn't know somebody", said Gisela Kaplan, emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England and author of Bird Minds.
As mentioned, magpie swooping season occurs during a magpie's mating period, which tends to fall between August and October each year. While it can seem like it drags on forever when you're dreading your commute and trying your best to avoid feathered projectiles, a magpie will usually only swoop for around six weeks.
Statistics compiled by the community website Magpie Alert suggest that most swooping takes place between August and October. "When the fledglings are out of the nest, the nest defence activity decreases," Ratnayake says.
None of the research about magpies to date has found that magpies target specific colours, such as orange, yellow or purple. Instead, it is widely believed that they swoop purely to protect their young. Although they may not be enraged by certain colours, magpies that swoop tend to target specific types of people.
If the bird was familiar with you being in its territory and viewed you as a food source and not a threat, the likelihood of the magpie swooping you would be reduced, Dr Jones said. “Only feed the birds if they are the ones next to where you live,” he said.