Claude wrote:
"Me" wrote in message
news:1109908423.e0732cd6cab3ac7ad568ba247150a1fe@t eranews...



I have read that magpies tend to form groups (or whatever the term may
be for a group of magpies? Lump of magpies :-) ? )


Tiding of Magpies

- alternatively, a charm, a congregation, a flock, a gulp , a mischief, a
murder, a tittering, a tribe


Oz Magpies aren't related to the European or Old World Magpies that are
most closely related to the rooks and crows. Ours belong to the family
of Bell-Magpies (listen to their call) from the Southern Hemisphere. So,
ours occur in tribes. A tribe consists of a number of individuals led by
an alpha male and his wife(s) and some of this year's clutch. If tucker
is plentiful, then the tribe might be a very large one (maybe twenty or
thirty individuals), but if not (say, in drought), then the tribe may
only have six or eight members.

When a clutch is fledged, the members may or may not be 'allowed' to
join the tribe. If the tribe perceives there are enough members, then
the fledglings will be driven away (sometimes killed!) to find a new
territory. I once rescued a young magpie from this process and still
bear the scars on my arm from where he resisted my gentle attentions! I
had to teach him to fly, since he didn't know how! Eventually, I
released him to a tribe near my home and he did quite well.

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, Australia