Australian Magpie

The Australian Magpie is a large, confident, black-and-white songbird found across nearly every habitat type in Australia, from remote farmland to city parks. Its plumage is a bold combination of glossy black and white, with the exact pattern varying by subspecies: some populations show an entirely black back (black-backed forms), while others have a white back and nape (white-backed forms), with several intergrade forms in between.

A sturdy, straight, pale grey-blue bill with a black tip and reddish eyes complete the magpie's confident, upright appearance. Despite the name, it is not closely related to the magpies of the Northern Hemisphere, which are corvids; the Australian Magpie belongs to its own family of butcherbirds and allies.

Key field marks

• Bold black-and-white plumage, pattern varying regionally (black-backed vs white-backed forms)
• Sturdy, straight, pale grey bill with a dark tip
• Reddish-brown eyes
• Upright stance and confident, walking gait on open ground
• Large size compared to most other black-and-white Australian birds

Similar species

• Magpie-lark: much smaller, with a slimmer bill and different black-and-white facial pattern.
• Pied Currawong: mostly black with limited white in the wings and tail, yellow eye, more slender bill.
• Pied Butcherbird: smaller, with a black hood and heavier hooked bill adapted for a carnivorous diet.

Habitat

Australian Magpies thrive in open woodland, farmland, parks, sporting fields, golf courses, and suburban gardens, wherever there is a mix of open ground for foraging and trees for nesting and roosting.

Range

The species is found across almost the entire Australian mainland and Tasmania, largely absent only from the most densely forested regions and the driest deserts; it has also been introduced to New Zealand and parts of Fiji.

Migration

Sedentary, with established territorial groups defending the same area year-round, though non-breeding immature birds may form nomadic flocks.

Behavior

Australian Magpies live in cooperative territorial groups and are highly intelligent, capable of recognizing individual human faces and forming long-term social bonds. They are famous, and sometimes feared, for swooping people who approach nest sites during the breeding season, a behavior carried out mainly by a small proportion of territorial males.

Voice

The song is a rich, complex, warbling and carolling series of flute-like notes, often performed by multiple birds in a group in loose duet or chorus, and considered one of the most musical bird songs in Australia.

Feeding

Most feeding occurs on open ground, where magpies probe and dig for insect larvae, worms, and other invertebrates using their strong bill; they also take some seeds, grain, and occasionally small vertebrates.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are bulky stick structures built high in trees, defended vigorously by the resident group. Clutches typically contain three to five blue-green, blotched eggs, incubated by the female, with the whole group assisting in feeding and defending the chicks once hatched.