To befriend a magpie, consistently offer appropriate food (like mealworms or unsalted nuts), provide fresh water in a birdbath, be calm and quiet in their presence, make eye contact from a distance to build recognition, and create a safe yard with no threats, as they are intelligent, remember faces, and can form lifelong bonds with people they trust.
Patience and lots of it, slow deliberate movements while you're getting used to each other also helps build some trust. Minimal eye contact at first for the more skittish ones. Good food to tempt them to visit, my pies seem to enjoy smaller nuts like cashews, and absolutely love dry dog/cat kibble.
Magpies like unsalted cashews and other nuts, unsalted scrambled/boiled egg, cat food, raw meat scraps, cheese, mealworms.
Male Magpies swoop people because they are protecting their chicks, but also because the person walking or riding by reminds the bird of someone who disturbed them in the past. Magpies have very long memories. There is a lot to love about these distinctive Australian birds.
They are also one of the continent's most ubiquitous and sociable animals. Magpies have had a long time to become accustomed to people. Making friends with magpies is normal. When animals choose to be around humans too, that is perfectly natural.
If you spot a lone magpie and fear it might bring bad luck, there are several things you can do to ward off misfortune: Salute the magpie. Say, “Good morning, General” or “Good morning, Captain.” Greet it with, “Good morning, Mr Magpie, how is your lady wife today?”
Keep Calm
Walk away calmly. Maintain eye contact or keep the bird in view—magpies usually attack from behind. Use your arms above your head to protect your face if necessary.
Magpies don't beat around the bush, so if one doesn't like you, you will know about it. On the other hand, if a magpie is singing near you, making eye contact or following you around on regular walking routes, it's safe to say you've got a friend in that magpie.
The bird that goes "woop woop woop" in Australia is the Pheasant Coucal, a large, ground-dwelling cuckoo known for its distinctive, resonant, bubbling call that sounds like "oop-oop-oop-opp" or "whoop-whoop-whoop," often heard morning and night, and sometimes mistaken for rain.
But here's how to achieve peace
First of all, at a safe distance, stand your ground. Then, when you can see the magpie, take off your hat and show them your friendly face - keeping your sunglasses on for safety initially. Let them see you, read your good intentions and then move on.
Yes, magpies absolutely remember people who feed them, recognizing individual faces and associating them with positive experiences, which can lead to them becoming friendly and even waiting for you, while also remembering negative encounters like threats or cruelty for years. They can form strong bonds, with some people even hand-feeding them or having them approach to preen their hair, making them less likely to swoop during breeding season if treated well.
Always be gentle and kind. Just leave them alone and do not attempt to be friends or talk to them unwanted. If you are willing to wait patiently without trying to get near this bird in a hurry or angered, you will stand a better chance of taming it.
Giving magpies chocolate should be avoided at all costs, as it contains a dangerous substance called theobromine, which can be toxic to many animals, including magpies. Even small amounts of chocolate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and even death in these birds.
They form strong memory-based bonds, often remembering faces and associating people with food, safety, or positive experiences. This familiarity can make them approach, interact, and even mimic “friendly” behaviors, giving the impression of a personal connection.
Magpies feed on small insects and animals that live on, or just under, the surface of the ground. A favourite is the scarab beetle, which is a major pest of garden lawns. Magpies will also eat frogs, small lizards, meat scraps and grain.
Australian magpies generally live to around 25 years of age, though ages of up to 30 years have been recorded. The reported age of first breeding has varied according to area, but the average is between three and five years.
Casuarius casuarius johnsonii. Southern Cassowary 🪶 Dubbed as the world's most dangerous bird, the Southern Cassowary has a vivid blue neck and striking long red wattles. If they feel threatened this flightless bird can deliver a powerful kick strong enough to break bones.
As a result, the males in particular feel compelled to start singing. They normally sing most at dawn, but in many residential and urban areas they are fooled by streetlights, porch lights, etc. These trick their bodies into believing that dawn is breaking, causing them to start singing in the middle of the night.
The bush stone-curlew is probably heard more than it is seen. Its call sounds like a wail or a scream in the night. When scared, it screeches – a sound similar to the screech of a possum.
It turns out that magpies can be friends with people – and not just when they want food. Look at viral Molly the magpie, for example, who befriended Peggy the staffy after her owners rescued her as a chick.
Which Birds Give Gifts? The most well-documented bird-to-human gifts come from members of the corvid family: crows, ravens, magpies, and jays. Other bird species are more likely to gift their bird friends, and include wrens, kingfishers, terns, gulls, hawks, and eagles.
A greeting might be something like "Good morning, Mr Magpie, how are Mrs Magpie and all the other little magpies?", and a 19th century version recorded in Shropshire is to say "Devil, Devil, I defy thee! Magpie, magpie, I go by thee!" and to spit on the ground three times.
New research demonstrates for the first time that birds also respond to a human's gaze. Predators tend to look at their prey when they attack, so direct eye-gaze can predict imminent danger.
According to some christian traditions, the magpie is a really bad piece of work. Their traditions (not from the Bible) say that the magpie represents the devil because during the crucifixion of Jesus a dove and a magpie sat on the cross. The dove apparently caught one of Christ's tears but the magpie never.