Magpie attacks are always directed at the head. Their weapons of choice are a closed beak or open claws, or they bite and leave two fine cuts where the skin has been pinched and sliced.
A Brisbane study has shown that only nine per cent of magpies are aggressive towards people. Even though most magpies don't attack people, many have seen or experienced a magpie attack while walking or riding through a magpie's territory sometime between July and November.
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.
Australian Magpies are strongly territorial and defend their territories both from other magpies as well as potential predators. Unfortunately, some individual magpies perceive humans as a potential threat and accordingly, swoop down with a fast warning flight, occasionally making contact.
Interesting fact: It's true, magpies remember your face. They have excellent recall for faces and very long memories. So, if you've been swooped before, or even if you just look like someone they swooped last year, you're likely to get the same treatment again.
When magpies have formed an attachment they will often show their trust, for example, by formally introducing their offspring. They may allow their chicks to play near people, not fly away when a resident human is approaching, and actually approach or roost near a human.
When magpies swoop, they beat their wings, clack their beaks and occasionally peck or scratch. Accidents can occur because people, particularly children, panic. Remember, magpies are simply trying to protect their territory. Stay calm, protect your face and walk away quickly.
Magpies don't like shiny things, in fact they fear them | SBS News.
Although magpies will peck around in the soil looking for insects, the main garden damage is done to the lawn where they create holes while looking for grubs, such as leatherjackets and chafer grubs. That being said, magpies are a useful control for these two root-eating plant pests.
Use Decoys And Reflective Objects
There's one thing magpies are really scared of – flashing lights. You can keep magpies at bay by placing any reflective object in your yard.
Magpies, like their corvid cousin crows, are clever birds and remember faces. If you are persistently calm and don't respond to swooping with anything that might be perceived as a threat - such as waving your arms, a stick or an umbrella - the magpies will often swiftly learn you don't pose a danger.
Magpies love:
Open woodlands with tall trees but no understory. Big, old trees which give them somewhere safe to build their nests and sleep at night.
It's not just humans that Magpies see as a threat to their young. It's for this reason that dogs and cats can also attract their wrath. To protect your pets as much as possible: Make sure dogs are on-leash when walking through a Magpie's territory.
Magpies are a protected species, and it's against the law to kill them, relocate them, destroy their nests, or collect their eggs. They usually mate for life, and moving them can disrupt their family life. In any case, after they've been removed and released elsewhere, they usually return within a few days or weeks.
Know the swooping areas, give these birds space and take a detour until they get their young out of the nest. If you do find yourself in a swooping area, dismount your bike if you're riding and walk through the magpie's territory calmly and quickly. Wear glasses or sunglasses to keep your eyes safe. Ride in a group.
The common magpie is one of the most intelligent birds—and one of the most intelligent animals to exist. Their brain-to-body-mass ratio is outmatched only by that of humans and equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes.
They are considered a messenger of good luck and are known as “birds of joy." For instance, if you see a magpie or if a magpie builds a nest near your home, that may be an indication and positive omen of incoming success and good news.
Salute the magpie. Say 'Good morning general' or 'Good morning captain'. Say 'Good morning Mr Magpie, how is your lady wife today? '
The months following fledging are a dangerous time for young magpies, with a high percentage failing to make it through the first year. If the young birds survive to breed, their average life expectancy is around three years. Some live much longer than this, with the oldest recorded being more than 21 years old.
It may be possible to deter them by playing a tape of a crow or rook distress call. These distress calls, however, could deter other birds too, not just magpies. Also, please be considerate of your neighbours when playing tapes.
Like dogs, magpies seem to sense fear and may capitalise on this by pressing on with harassing any perceived threat. Occasionally, a magpie will actually strike an intruder on the head with its bill. While such strikes are rare, magpies can inflict serious injuries.
The evilness of magpies is not just limited only to religious superstitions and the bird is also associated with the devil and its pied plumage associated with evil and bad fortune. Magpies are also known for stealing shiny objects (like jewellery) and can deceive others, therefore, the attribution of being evil.
“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.”
Please remember that just like any other caring parent, swooping magpies are not targeting you personally, they are simply protecting their young from a perceived threat and this behaviour will only last for a few weeks.
Spring means that time of year when some magpies, who are protecting their young during mating season, will swoop people who come near their nests. Three years ago, a 76-year-old man riding his bike near Wollongong died when he crashed after a swooping attack.