Green Island (Oxford Reading Tree: Stage 9: Magpies)

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I don’t have a garden as such – my flat is part of a big house broken into several flats – but a pair of magpies occupy the snippet of garden and neighbour’s tree and the general area. The phrase “popular antiquities” later became known as folklore, a term coined by William John Thoms in 1846. The magpies, the only known bird that can recognise itself in a mirror, remained in the branches for several minutes before they flew off one by one. Culling magpies is legal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, providing it is done humanely and for a specific purpose, for example to protect crops or conserve wild birds.

Ten for a bird you must not miss: If you see ten magpies, it is believed that you will soon have an important opportunity that you should not miss. I thought they recognised me for a generous benefactor but the mug-pies only recognised me for a mark. I’ve read it goes up to 20, but I think it gets a bit tedious after 10, and 13 is definitely not nice as far as magpies go.The magpie rhyme has often been seen as a bad omen or superstition, with some believing that one magpie meant sorrow and two meant joy. The magpie rhyme has a long and colourful history, with some versions of it dating as far back as the 1600s. I remember Chris Packham saying that while it's not nice when a magpie takes young birds, at least they're only the young ones, and the adults are left to raise another brood (hopefully learning from the experience and building the next nest in a better site). Magpies have carried their air of intrigue into the modern era, and the nursery rhyme remains fixed in popular culture. By counting the number of magpies one sees in a specific area, people believe they can predict whether it’ll be sunny or cloudy that day.

What is the story behind magpies and is any if it actually true for the last 3 weeks, 3 magpies keep coming up to my front door and playing on my driveway before this I had never seen a magpie but there's always 3 of them.A collection of proverbs and popular sayings relating to the seasons, the weather, and agricultural pursuits / gathered chiefly from oral tradition. The bird possesses great intelligence, due in part to the fact that it is anything but bird-brained: its nidopallium-to-bodymass ratio is said to be similar to that of chimps, orangutans and even humans. The change from spring to autumn sowing and the increase in the use of agricultural chemicals have reduced the amount of insects and weed seeds available for songbirds to eat. Oral tradition plays a key role in shaping modern lives, and sayings relating to the natural world hold a special place in engaging future generations with the wonders of wildlife that exist all around us. The mysterious secret could be either good news that is not to be shared, or it could be a burden of truth that someone has to carry eternally without ever speaking of it out loud.