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I've had some questions put to me off-list
regarding the ACT Govt's plans to euthanase "troublesome" magpies, which people
may know the answers to or willing to offer reasoned conjecture
upon:
1. If a male is either killed or removed while
his mate is brooding chicks, will another male take its place?
2. If so, what will the new male do to existing
chicks fathered by the previous male?
3. If another male does not move in, what are the
survival chances of mum and the kids without dad?
I've had a look through the new Hanzab and it
doesn't seem to cover these issues specifically (unless I've missed the
appropriate paras). My gut feelings are that: 1) Breeders that have helpers (not
all have) may see a helper assume the place of the missing male; 2) helpers tend
to be related to the breeders (often previous year's offspring) and would regard
the new chicks as relatives (same gene pool?) and therefore not harm them; and
3) survival of the chicks would depend upon environmental factors, such as
adequacy of food and being left alone by predators (including
humans!)
My opinion is that we should leave them
alone.
David
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