Eurasian Magpie and Magpie Lore

A Eurasian Magpie at Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.
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A Eurasian Magpie strutting its stuff in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

After seeing many Magpies in Colorado, I was surprised to see several of them in London last Spring. But I should have known this would be the case, as Magpies (Above) like Jackdaws are abundantly referred to in British Literature dating all the way back to Shakespeare's days. Magpies were especially thought to be a mysterious bird and were regarded with superstition. So this is the perfect bird to blog about on Halloween.
The term “pie” is French and comes from the Latin word “pica”, meaning black-and-white, or pied. The modern name of Magpie became established from about 1600 in England and is derived from “Magot Pie”, which first appeared in Shakespeare’s MACBETH , Act IV, scene iii.

"Augurs and understood relations, have
By magot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
The secret’st man of blood."
In this scene MacBeth was shocked to see the ghost of Banquo whom he had just ordered to be murdered, and he calls the witches who predicted this 'magot pies.'

And again, in HENRY VI. Part III (Act V, scene vi):
"Chattering pies in dismal discords sung." King Henry names Magpies as being present at the birth of his murderer Gloucester.

There are numerous rhymes relating to the Magpie:
"One is sorrow, two mirth,
Three a wedding, four a birth.
Five heaven, six hell,
Seven the de’il's ain sell."

In Devonshire, in order to avert the ill-luck from seeing a magpie, the peasant spits over his right shoulder three times. It is a common notion in Scotland that Magpies flying near the windows of a house portend a speedy death to one of its inmates. The superstitions associated with the Magpie are not confined to the British Isles. In Sweden it is considered the witch's bird, belonging to the evil one and the other powers of night. In Denmark, when a Magpie perches on a house, it is regarded as a sign that strangers are coming.

I saw two Magpies in London, so that must mean I am mirthful.

Jackdaw



A Jackdaw hanging around the Hampton Court grounds, London, UK; 4/5/10.

Another black bird that is commonly referred to in Shakespeare's writings is the Jackdaw, which is one of the smallest member of the Crow family. It is a black bird with grey nape and distinctive white irises. It is omnivorous and eats a wide variety of plant material and invertebrates, and scavanges on food waste from urban areas. The Jackdaw has benefited from clearing of forested areas and is found in farmland and urban areas, as well as open wooded areas and coastal cliffs throughout Europe, western Asia and North Africa.

A Jackdaw, Hampton Court grounds, London, England, UK; 4/5/10.



Eurasian Blackbird

Female Eurasian Blackbird, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

The Eurasian Blackbird is common and widespread in woods and gardens over all of Europe and much of Asia south of the Arctic Circle. Populations are resident except for northern birds which move south in winter. There are now records of breeding Eurasian Blackbirds in Iceland. The Blackbird has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its native range and in Australia and New Zealand it is considered a pest and has an effect on natural ecosystems. Here in the U.S. there have been sightings in the Northeastern regions, but these are considered accidental, as the birds may have been blown off course by storms.

The male is completely black except for its bright yellow beak and eyering (Below), while the female (Above) has brown plumage and beak and does not sport the yellow eyering. Since I didn't have a good photo of the male, I pulled the photo below from Google Images.


A male Eurasian Blackbird; Photo credit to Robert Scanlon, 2005.



Ring-necked Parakeet

Another surprising find while exploring the grounds of the Hampton Court Palace, was the Ring-necked Parakeet (Below). Upon seeing a pair of them perched in a tree in the garden, I assumed that they were domesticated birds that were released on the grounds for tourists. However I learned that they were indeed wild. These bright green birds with a black ring around its neck and a bright red bill were easy to spot in the trees. The European populations of the Ring-necked Parakeet became established during the mid to late 20th Century from introduced and escaped birds. In Britain: the largest population is based around south London, and by 2005 consisted of many thousands of birds. The winter of 2006 saw three separate roosts of circa 6000 birds around London^. It has been suggested that these feral parakeerts could endanger populations of native British birds, and that the Rose-ringed Parakeet could even be culled as a result.


A feral Ring-necked Parakeet on the grounds of Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.



Great Tit



A Great Tit, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.

While exploring the grounds around the Hampton Court Palace, London, UK, I was specifically looking for birds that I would not be able to see in the States, and lucked out when I saw this distinctive bird with a black head and neck and prominent white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow underparts. The Great Tit (Above) is related to the Chickadee family and is well distributed over Europe and north Africa through all of Asia, India and Sri Lanka to Japan and south to parts of Indonesia. The Great Tit has adapted well to human changes in the environment and is a common and familiar bird in urban parks and gardens.



A Great Tit, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.

Common Moorhen



Common Moorhen, Regents Park, London; 4/10/10

The most widely distributed member of the rail family, is the Common Moorhen (Above and Below), which inhabits marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, from northern Europe to southern Africa, and across Asia to the Pacific. We saw the Moorhen in several places while visiting London last April. It is similar to the Coot (Blog post 10/17) as it is a ducklike bird with chickenlike bill and feet. Its bill is a striking red with a yellow tip and possesses a white stripe along its flanks which contrast to its dark body. Most of the Moorhens I observed stayed near the shore of ponds but weren't in the water, but this gave me the chance to see their yellow legs with a spot of red just above their inverse knee joints which made them look like they were wearing knee stockings.  Their funny long toes  are used for digging in the mud and to walk atop floating vegetation in marshes.


Common Moorhen, Regents Park, London; 4/10/10



Eurasian Coot and American Coot

We saw lots of Coots while in London last April: on the Hampton Court grounds, at Regents Park and St. James Park - the three areas where we saw the most birds. The Eurasian Coots are very similar to our American Coots. Coots are often mistaken as ducks, but they have more of a bill like a chicken than a duck, and do not have a duck's webbed feet. They possess lobed toes which are very long and used as a defense weapon.

Eurasian Coot, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4-5-10



Eurasian Coot, St. James Park, London; 4-8-10

As the photos suggest, the Eurasian Coot is a squat marsh bird found in slow moving fresh or coastal waters. They are all black with a white bill and frontal shield. Its eye-rings are red and legs are yellowish-gray. As I stated above, their toes are long and lobed, not webbed like other water fowl. Coots are very aggressive towards other water birds. They are common in Europe and if they appear at all in the Western Hemisphere it would be rare occurances in the islands off of Alaska or on the far Eastern coast of Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador.




American Coot, Saguaro Lake, Arizona; 12/26/08.

The American Coot (Above) is very similar to its Eurasian counterpart. Some of the differences appear in its bill and facial shield. The American Coot's upper facial shield often is red, but sometimes can be white or gray. The tip of its white bill has a dark ring.  When I visit Arizona in the Winter, Coots are anywhere there is water: large lakes, small ponds and even golf course water hazards (Below). The Coots I see in winter have gray legs, but when they are in their breeding plumage, the legs turn yellow. In summer they breed from throughout Canada to Northern Midwest and from upstate New York to the Northeastern states. In winter they will stay southward down the western and southwestren U.S.  In a rare sighting this past April, 2010, I spotted a Coot on our own lake in Rock Cut State Park near Rockford, IL (Bottom), probably on its migration northward.

American Coots on the ocotillo Golf Course, Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/09

American Coots taking flight; Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/09

A lone American Coot resting on Pierce Lake, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/18/10.