len gardener wrote:

ok ok i know a lot of people have a bad time with magpies but look to
human intervention for the problem don't blame the bird.

we have 3 familes of magpies with common boundries here on our rural
block, so this time of the year or most of the year there is some
bickering over boundry infringments but never anything full on just
some aerial stuff or swooping at each other.

now this morning i saw 2 families having this sort of altercation on
our property where their boundries meet, so not taking much notice i
went about my work only to look down the paddock and see a dead
magpie. the magpie had recieved a fatal wound under 1 wing looked like
a bullet hole, but could not have been didn't hear any guns and people
around here don't go shooting magpies plus it was only a sight that
could be seen from our vantage point. so i can only guess that some
how this boundry fight got a bit rough.

has anyone else ever expereinced magpies actually hurting each other
to the point of death?

that's nature, that's life i guess.

len

Len, magpies are highly territorial and will often go to extraordinary
lengths to drive off interlopers! Here in N'cle, where tucker is easy
and space around town is at a premium, it's not at all uncommon to see
dead maggies, either old or young, that have been killed by their tribe
to keep the population down.

AFAIK, when food or breeding 'space' is short, the magpies exist in
discrete tribes, each of which has an optimum population size. If that
number is exceeded, then the youngest or weakest member will be driven
out. If the member won't (or can't) get out fast enough, it may well be
killed by the tribe.

Years ago, I was out flower collecting at a place called Minmi. I saw
about a dozen magpies, all on the ground and swooping/beating something
that was flopping about among them. When I went to investigate more
closely, I saw that it was a young adult magpie, nearly exhausted and
quite bloody from the repeated attacks! I crawled into the cattleyards
(where the assault had taken place) and managed to catch the bird in a
chaff bag.

Long story short, but I took it home and kept it for a few weeks. It was
unable to fly, so I made a harness for it out of seam binding tape. Of
an arvo, we would go out into the back paddock and 'fly' for half an
hour or so. Eventually, the bird got the hang of it all and began to fly
circles around me. That's when I let him go. I hope he did well in life
after his dicey beginnings!

I have a long scar on my left forearm from this magpie. One morning, I
wasn't quick enough with the soaked dogfood and he pecked at me,
ploughing a furrow about eight inches long! It festered and was *quite*
painful, taking a long time to heal. If you have a local maggie that
swoops, make sure you wear something that will prevent him getting at
you and breaking any skin! I wouldn't wish a wound like that on anyone!

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia