This morning during a chilly dog walk around Hawker ovals, I met two magpies in a eucalypt, she quivering her rear end suggestively. I waited to see the action. Then it became obvious there was another female magpie in a tree opposite, less than 5 m away, and also quivering suggestively. The male pondered for a couple of seconds, then chose the second female and copulated briefly and unceremoniously, thus answering (at least in this one case) Gisela Kaplan’s query as to whether male or female magpies chose their partner. It would have been interesting to see if he also mated with the other female but it was rather too cold to hang about. And Hawker ovals are probably blessed with too many magpies to be sure of future developments. b
