Eurasian Magpies are commonly found in human-dominated landscapes, thriving in both urban environments and around farms.
These areas provide the birds with the resources they need, such as trees for nesting and open ground for foraging.
Eurasian Magpies are adaptable and can inhabit a wide range of habitats, including deciduous and coniferous woodlands. However, they tend to avoid dense forests, vast wetlands, and open, treeless areas.
Diet and Feeding Behavior
Omnivorous Diet
Eurasian Magpies are omnivores and opportunistic feeders, which means they will take advantage of whatever food sources are available to them. In many cases, insects, especially beetles, form the primary diet for these birds. Additionally, they will consume fruits, seeds, carrion, refuse, and other easily accessible food. Magpies are also known for their behavior of raiding the nests of other birds, feeding on eggs and chicks. However, vertebrates typically constitute a small portion of their overall diet.
Foraging Techniques
These birds are mostly ground foragers. They exhibit a distinctive foraging behavior—walking slowly with their long tail often raised. They stop frequently to survey their surroundings before moving quickly, either hopping or walking, to pick up items from the ground. Eurasian Magpies are also known to cache food, a behavior shared with other members of the crow, jay, and magpie family. However, the food they store tends to be perishable, and they generally reclaim it within a week or two.
Bird Facts: The Eurasian Magpie
Video by My Birding Year
Nesting and Reproduction
Nest Placement
Dear Lykkers! Eurasian Magpies typically build their nests in the crowns of tall trees. In areas where trees are limited, they may opt for alternative nesting sites such as electrical pylons or small bushes.
Nest Description
The nests of Eurasian Magpies are most often domed structures made of sticks and twigs, with one or two side entrances leading to a cup-shaped interior. The cup is constructed from mud and lined with twigs, grass, and soft materials like feathers and hair. The outer dome usually measures around 24 cm (9 inches) in diameter, while the cup itself is about 12 cm (5 inches) deep. Depending on the experience of the pair, nest construction can take anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. Interestingly, in some areas, approximately a quarter of all nests are not domed.
Nesting Facts
Clutch Size: 5-7 eggs
Number of Broods: 1 brood
Incubation Period: 21-22 days
Nestling Period: 24-30 days
Egg Description: Eggs range from light blue-green to dark greenish-brown, often with heavy brownish speckling.
Behavior and Social Structure
Conspicuous Behavior
Eurasian Magpies are highly conspicuous and familiar birds due to their distinctive behaviors. They often perch in high trees or on rooftops, using these elevated spots to alert others to the presence of predators, including cats, foxes, owls, raptors, and other threats. Unlike many crows and jays, magpies typically fly at low altitudes. Their flight pattern appears somewhat labored, consisting of a series of rapid wingbeats followed by glides, all while their long tail seems to drag behind them.
Ground Behavior
When on the ground, magpies move confidently, often with their tail held upright. Their movements are a combination of steady walking and strong hops or jumps.
Monogamy and Family Dynamics
Eurasian Magpies are monogamous and maintain strong pair bonds year-round, with some pairs staying together for several years. Both the male and female contribute to nest building, with the male gathering most of the materials and the female doing the bulk of the construction work. The female incubates the eggs and broods the chicks. After hatching, both parents take responsibility for feeding the nestlings and fledglings, continuing this care for about six weeks after they leave the nest. Like many other species in the crow, jay, and magpie families, Eurasian Magpies often travel in family groups and occasionally form large communal roosts, with up to 20 or more birds.
