Editing Magpie

{{Short description|Large bird in the corvid family}}
{{About|the birds in the family Corvidae|the black and white bird often referred to by English speakers simply as 'magpie'|Eurasian magpie|the Australasian bird in the family Artamidae|Australian magpie|other uses}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| image = Pica pica - Compans Caffarelli - 2012-03-16.jpg
| image_caption = [[Eurasian magpie]]
| parent = Corvidae
| includes = *[[Cissinae]]
*''[[Cyanopica]]''
*''[[Pica (genus)|Pica]]''
| excludes = *[[Cyanocoracinae]]
*''[[Perisoreus]]''
*''[[Garrulus]]''
*''[[Ptilostomus]]''
*''[[Zavattariornis]]''
*''[[Podoces]]''
*''[[Nucifraga]]''
*''[[Coloeus]]''
*''[[Corvus]]''
}}

'''Magpies''' are [[bird]]s of various species of the family [[Corvidae]]. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The [[Eurasian magpie]], for instance, is thought to rank among the world's [[Animal cognition|most intelligent creatures]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/magpies-reflect-on-a-newly-discovered-intellectual-prowess-901857.html|title=Magpies reflect on a newly discovered intellectual prowess|first=Steve|last=Connor|date=19 August 2008|work=The Independent|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=18 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118172633/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/magpies-reflect-on-a-newly-discovered-intellectual-prowess-901857.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Eurasian Magpie: A True Bird Brain |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/eurasian-magpie-a-true-bird-brain |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114185642/https://www.britannica.com/story/eurasian-magpie-a-true-bird-brain |url-status=live }}</ref> and is one of the few nonmammalian species able to recognize itself in a [[mirror test]].<ref>{{cite journal  |vauthors=Prior H, et al. | editor1-last=De Waal | editor1-first=Frans | title=Mirror-Induced Behavior in the Magpie (''Pica pica''): Evidence of Self-Recognition | journal=PLOS Biology | publisher=Public Library of Science | year=2008 | doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060202 | volume=6 | pages=e202 | pmid=18715117 | issue=8 | pmc=2517622 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Magpies have shown the ability to make and use tools, imitate human speech, grieve, play games, and work in teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administrator |date=2016-09-12 |title=Eurasian Magpie: A True Bird Brain |url=https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/eurasian-magpie-a-true-bird-brain |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Saving Earth {{!}} Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. In addition to other members of the genus ''[[Pica (genus)|Pica]]'', corvids considered magpies are in the genera ''[[Cissa (genus)|Cissa]]'', ''[[Urocissa]]'', and ''[[Cyanopica]]''.

Magpies of the genus ''Pica'' are generally found in temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and western North America, with populations also present in Tibet and high-elevation areas of Kashmir. Magpies of the genus ''Cyanopica'' are found in East Asia and the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. The birds called [[Australian magpie|magpies in Australia]] are, however, not related to the magpies in the rest of the world.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Joseph|first=Leo|date=2017-12-12|title=It's beloved, but Australia's magpie is an international bird of mystery {{!}} Leo Joseph|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/12/its-beloved-but-australias-magpie-is-an-international-bird-of-mystery|access-date=2020-10-19|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023054357/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/12/its-beloved-but-australias-magpie-is-an-international-bird-of-mystery|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Name==
References dating back to [[Old English]] call the bird a "pie," for its [[piebald]] coloring (derived from the Latin ''pica'' and cognate to French ''pie''); this term has fallen out of use.<ref>{{Cite OED|pie|id=143536}}</ref> The tendency in previous centuries was to give birds common names, such as robin redbreast (which now is called the [[European robin|robin]]) and jenny wren. The magpie was originally variously maggie pie and mag pie.<ref>{{Cite OED|magpie|id=112371}}</ref> The term "[[Pica (disorder)|pica]]" for the human disorder involving a compulsive desire to eat items that are not food is borrowed from the Latin name of the magpie, ''pica'', for its reputed tendency to feed on miscellaneous things.<ref>{{Cite OED|pica|id=143319}}</ref>

==Systematics and species==

According to some studies, magpies do not form the [[monophyletic]] group they are traditionally believed to be; tails have elongated (or shortened) independently in multiple lineages of corvid birds.<ref>Ericson, Per G. P.; Jansén, Anna-Lee; Johansson, Ulf S. & Ekman, Jan (2005): [http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021299/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810020048/http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021299/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf |date=2017-08-10 }} ''Journal of Avian Biology'' '''36''': 222–234.</ref> Among the traditional magpies,  two distinct lineages apparently exist. One consists of [[Holarctic]] species with black and white colouration, and is probably closely related to [[crow]]s and Eurasian [[jay]]s. The other contains several species from [[South Asia|South]] to [[East Asia]] with vivid colouration, which is predominantly green or blue. The [[azure-winged magpie]] and the [[Iberian magpie]], formerly thought to constitute a single species with a most peculiar distribution, have been shown to be two distinct species, and are classified as the genus ''Cyanopica''.<ref>Kyukov et al, [https://archive.today/20120703012450/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120712647/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Synchronic east–west divergence in azure-winged magpies (''Cyanopica cyanus'') and magpies (''Pica pica''), Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 42(4): 342-351 (2004)]</ref>

Other research has cast doubt on the taxonomy of the ''Pica'' magpies, since  ''P. hudsonia'' and ''P. nuttalli'' may not be different species, whereas the [[Korea]]n race of ''P. pica'' is genetically very distinct from the other Eurasian (as well as the North American) forms. Either the North American, Korean, and remaining Eurasian forms are accepted as three or four separate species, or else only a single species, ''Pica pica'', exists.<ref>Lee, Sang-im; Parr, Cynthia S.; Hwang, Youna; Mindell, David P. & Choe, Jae C. (2003): [http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/molsys/LPHMC03.pdf Phylogeny of magpies (genus ''Pica'') inferred from mtDNA data.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040504221410/http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/molsys/LPHMC03.pdf |date=2004-05-04 }} ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' '''29''': 250–257.</ref>

'''Oriental (blue and green) magpies'''
*Subfamily [[Cissinae]]
**Genus ''[[Urocissa]]''
*** [[Taiwan blue magpie]], ''Urocissa caerulea''
*** [[Red-billed blue magpie]], ''Urocissa erythroryncha''
*** [[Yellow-billed blue magpie]], ''Urocissa flavirostris''
*** [[White-winged magpie]], ''Urocissa whiteheadi''
*** [[Sri Lanka blue magpie]], ''Urocissa ornata''
**Genus ''[[Cissa (genus)|Cissa]]''
*** [[Common green magpie]], ''Cissa chinensis''
*** [[Indochinese green magpie]], ''Cissa hypoleuca''
*** [[Javan green magpie]], ''Cissa thalassina''
*** [[Bornean green magpie]], ''Cissa jefferyi''

'''Azure-winged magpies'''
*Genus ''[[Cyanopica]]''
** [[Azure-winged magpie]], ''Cyanopica cyanus''
** [[Iberian magpie]], ''Cyanopica cooki''

'''Holarctic (black-and-white) magpies'''
*Genus ''[[Pica (genus)|Pica]]''
** [[Eurasian magpie]], ''Pica pica''
** [[Black-billed magpie]], ''Pica hudsonia'' (may be [[conspecific]] with ''P. pica'')
** [[Yellow-billed magpie]], ''Pica nuttalli'' (may be conspecific with ''P. (pica) hudsonia'')
** [[Asir magpie]], ''Pica asirensis'' (may be conspecific with ''P. pica'')
** [[Maghreb magpie]], ''Pica mauritanica'' (may be conspecific with ''P. pica'')
** [[Oriental magpie]], ''Pica serica'' (may be conspecific with ''P. pica'')
** [[Black-rumped magpie]]. ''Pica bottanensis'' (may be conspecific with ''P. pica'')

==Other "magpies"==
*The [[black magpie]]s, ''Platysmurus'', are [[treepie]]s; they are neither magpies, nor as was long believed, jays. Treepies are a distinct group of corvids externally similar to magpies.
*The [[Australian magpie]], ''Cracticus tibicen'', is conspicuously "pied", with black and white plumage reminiscent of a Eurasian magpie. It is a member of the family [[Artamidae]] and not a corvid.
*The [[magpie-robin]]s, members of the genus ''Copsychus'', have a similar "pied" appearance, but they are [[Old World flycatcher]]s, unrelated to the corvids.

== Human interactions ==
=== Cultural references ===
{{See also|Eurasian magpie#Relationship with humans|Black-billed magpie#Relationship with humans}}
Named as official bird of city of Edmonton, AB, CA in May 2025 [https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/9.6757323 per CBC]

==== East Asia ====

In East Asian cultures, the magpie is a very popular bird and is a symbol of good luck and fortune.

The magpie is a common subject in Chinese paintings. It is also often found in traditional Chinese poetry and couplets. In addition, in Chinese folklore, all the magpies of the [[Qixi Festival]] every year will fly to the [[Milky Way]] and form a bridge, where the separated [[The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl|Cowherd and Weaver Girl]] will meet. The Milky Way is like a river, and the Cowherd and Weaver Girl refer to the famous [[Altair|α-Aquilae]] and [[Vega|α-Lyrae]] of modern Astronomy, respectively. For this reason, the magpie bridge has come to symbolize a relationship between men and women.

Magpies have an important place in the birth myth of [[Aixinjueluo Bukuri Yong Shun|Ai Xinjue Luo Bukuri Yushun]], the ancestor of the [[Qing dynasty]].

The magpie is a national bird of [[Korea]] and a symbol of its capital [[Seoul]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tree, Flower & Bird - |url=https://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-views/seoul-symbols/4-tree-flower-bird/ |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=[[Seoul Metropolitan Government]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812232538/https://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-views/seoul-symbols/4-tree-flower-bird/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Europe ====

In European culture, the magpie is reputed to collect shiny objects such as wedding rings and other valuables, a well known example being [[Rossini]]'s opera ''[[La Gazza Ladra]]'' (''The Thieving Magpie''). A recent study conducted by [[Exeter University]] found that [[Eurasian magpie]]s express [[neophobia]] when presented with unfamiliar objects, and were less likely to approach or interact with the shiny objects - metal screws, foil rings and [[aluminium foil]] - used in the experiments.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-08-16 |title=Magpies 'don't steal shiny objects' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28797519 |access-date=2022-05-02 |archive-date=2023-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605113927/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28797519 |url-status=live }}</ref>  However, magpies are naturally curious like other members of the corvid family, and may collect shiny objects, but do not favour shiny objects over dull ones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-15 |title=Do Magpies Like Stealing Shiny Things? |url=https://www.audubon.org/news/do-magpies-stealing-shiny-things |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=Audubon |language=en |archive-date=2022-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520072251/https://www.audubon.org/news/do-magpies-stealing-shiny-things |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== As pests ===
Magpies are common [[orchard pest]]s in some regions of the world.<ref name="cherry-UC-IPM">{{cite web | url=http://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cherry/Birds/ | title=Birds / Cherry / Agriculture: Pest Management Guidelines | website=[[UC Statewide IPM Program]] (UC IPM) | access-date=2022-06-21 | archive-date=2022-09-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915182739/https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cherry/birds/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fruit-vine-UC-IPM">{{cite web | title=Birds on Tree Fruits and Vines Management Guidelines | website=[[UC Statewide IPM Program]] (UC IPM) | date=2005-05-20 | url=http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74152.html | access-date=2022-06-21 | archive-date=2022-06-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621151115/http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74152.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

==In legend==
*[[Magpies]] are the [[National bird]] of [[Bangladesh]].
*In [[England]], magpies were traditionally viewed as omens either of fortune or misfortune, depending upon the number of birds one saw. An English nursery rhyme known as "[[One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)|One for Sorrow]]" recounts the tradition:
{{blockquote|<poem>One for sorrow,
Two for joy, 
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy, 
Five for silver, 
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.<ref>{{cite book|author=P. Tate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFmORVI7x_EC&dq=%22one+for+sorrow%2C+two+for+joy%22+rhyme+magpie&pg=PT76|title=Flights of Fancy: Birds in Myth, Legend, and Superstition|location=New York|publisher=Random House|year=2010|isbn=978-1409035695}}</ref></poem>|sign=|source=}}

John Brand was an English antiquarian and Church of England clergyman, who was appointed Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, in 1784. His book, ''Observations of Popular Antiquities'', (1780), has the first-known record of counting Magpies to predict good or ill-fortune, in the description, and records only four lines:

"One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a funeral,
And four for a birth".
''Popular antiquities'' later became known as [[folklore]], (a term coined by [[William John Thoms]] in 1846).

In that year, the rhyme was added to ''Proverbs and Popular Sayings of the Seasons'',  by [[Michael Aislabie Denham]], an English merchant and collector of folklore. The following lines were added:-

"Five for heaven,
Six for hell,
Seven for the devil, his own self".
[[Sir Humphry Davy]] attributed the connection for the feeling of one, then two magpies to joy and sorrow in his, ''Salmonia : or Days of Fly Fishing'', (1828); he wrote:
"For anglers in spring it is always unlucky to see ''single'' magpies, but ''two'' may be always regarded as a favourable omen; and the reason is, that in cold and stormy weather one magpie alone leaves the nest in search of food, the other remaining sitting upon the eggs or the young ones; but when two go out together, it is only when the weather is warm and mild, and thus favourable for fishing."<ref>{{cite book |last=Paris |first=John Ayrton |date=1831 |title=The Life of Sir Humphry Davy: Volume I |location=London |publisher=H. Colburn and R. Bentley |page=468}}</ref>

* In sports, some teams that wear black and white striped kits are nicknamed the magpies, such as [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] and [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]] from England. <ref>{{Cite news |last=Spiers |first=Tim |title=Villans, Cherries, Toffees and Tractor Boys: The origins of English football club nicknames |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5753588/2024/09/09/english-football-nicknames-premier-league/#:~:text=The%20club's%20official%20nickname%20is,in%20the%201970s%20and%201980s. |access-date=2024-10-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NOTTINGHAM COUNTY – whatsbehindthebadge |url=https://whatsbehindthebadge.com/index.php/nottingham-county/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Thimindu 2010 02 20 Sinharaja Sri Lanka Blue Magpie 1.jpg|[[Sri Lanka blue magpie]]
Cissa hypoleucor concolor qtl1.jpg|[[Indochinese green magpie]]
Blauelester donana.jpg|[[Iberian magpie]]
Pica nuttalli.jpg|[[Yellow-billed magpie]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{ cite journal | last1=Song | first1=S. | last2=Zhang | first2=R. | last3=Alström | first3=P. | last4=Irestedt | first4=M. | last5=Cai | first5=T. | last6=Qu | first6=Y. | last7=Ericson | first7=P.G.P. | last8=Fjeldså | first8=J. | last9=Lei | first9=F. | year=2017 | title=Complete taxon sampling of the avian genus ''Pica'' (magpies) reveals ancient relictual populations and synchronous Late-Pleistocene demographic expansion across the Northern Hemisphere | journal=Journal of Avian Biology | volume=49 | issue=2 | pages=jav-01612 | doi=10.1111/jav.01612 | doi-access=free }}

==External links==
*[https://ebird.org/species/eurmag3 Magpie videos, photos and sounds] on eBird

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[[Category:Corvidae]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]