Eurasian Magpie Life History

Habitat

Eurasian Magpies are common in human landscapes, both in urban areas and around farms. Both settings provide these birds with trees for nesting and open ground for foraging. This species occurs in both deciduous and coniferous woodland, as well as other habitats, but it generally avoids dense forest, large wetlands, and treeless areas.

Food

Eurasian Magpies are omnivores and opportunistic feeders. In many situations, insects—and in particular, beetles—are their main food source. They also take advantage of fruits, seeds, carrion, refuse, and other plentiful foods. Eurasian Magpies are also notorious for raiding the nests of other birds and feeding on eggs and chicks, but vertebrates typically make up a small percentage of their overall diet.

Eurasian Magpies usually forage on the ground. They walk slowly—often with long tail raised—in search of prey, then stop to survey the area before hopping or walking quickly to pick an item from the ground. They sometimes cache food—a behavior shared with many other members of the crow, jay, and magpie family—but the stored food is usually perishable, so they typically reclaim it within a week or two.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Typically placed in the crown of a tall tree. In areas with limited trees, sometimes built on an electrical pylon or in a small bush.

Nest Description

Most frequently a dome of sticks and twigs with 1–2 side entrances leading to an interior cup nest. The cup consists of mud lined with twigs and grass, and then lined again with soft materials like grass, hair, and feathers. The outer dome is typically around 24 cm (9 inches) in diameter, and the cup is about 12 cm (5 inches) deep. Nest construction can take anywhere from 1–8 weeks depending on a pair’s experience. In some areas, about a quarter of all nests are not domed.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Eurasian Magpies’ behavior makes them very conspicuous and familiar birds. They often perch high up in trees or on rooftops, where they sound the alarm against cats, foxes, owls, raptors, and other predators. Unlike most crows and jays, they usually fly low to the ground. Their flight appears labored—a series of rapid wingbeats followed by glides, all while seeming to drag along their long tail. On the ground, magpies walk assuredly, often with their tail up, and intersperse strong hops and jumps.

Eurasian Magpie pairs are monogamous, maintaining pair bonds throughout the year for several years. Both sexes contribute to nest building—the male gathers most of the materials and the female does most of the actual construction. The female incubates the eggs and broods the young chicks. Both parents feed the nestlings and fledglings for about six weeks after they leave the nest. Like other crows, jays, and magpies, Eurasian Magpies often travel as families and at times gather in large groups of 20+ birds at communal roosts.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Eurasian Magpie’s conservation status as Least Concern, due to an extremely large population size (estimated at 22,500,000–57,000,000 individuals in Europe), extremely large range, and stable population trend.

Credits

Cramp, S., and C. M. Perrins (Editors) (1994). The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 8: Crows to Finches. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Jonsson, L. (1992). Birds of Europe: with North Africa and the Middle East. Christopher Helm, London, United Kingdom.

Madge, S., D. A. Christie, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.eurmag1.01

Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström (2009). Collins Bird Guide. Second edition. HarperCollins, London, UK.

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