canberrabirds

family structure - magpies

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Subject: family structure - magpies
From: "Margaret Leggoe" <>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:34:33 +1000

There is a family group of magpies that visit my place quite regularly.  I do confess to feeding them (not every day) when they sing me a particularly nice song.  But the make-up of the group has me puzzled.  There is one adult male, rather slender, two adult females and one juvenile.  Although the juvenile occasionally begs, the adults don’t feed it, and if i drop a morsel or two at its feet it does pick it up.  But the adults will pinch it if bubs is a bit slow.  Are magpies bigamous, or is one of the females an older sibling?

Margaret Leggoe.

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