Artamidae
Australian Magpie
Gymnorhina tibicen
The Ink-Throated Sentinel
- Length
- 40 cm
- Wingspan
- 76 cm
- Family
- Artamidae
Identification
A large, upright songbird of black and white, with a pale dagger bill and a warm russet eye. On the Mornington Peninsula the white-backed form is the local dress: a clean white saddle across the nape and back, black head, and a white band on the tail. Juveniles are greyer, with a darker bill that lightens as they come of age. Do not confuse with a Pied Currawong (yellow eye, heavier bill) or a Grey Butcherbird (black hood, much smaller).
Distinctive marks
- White nape and back (south-eastern form)
- Pale bluish-white bill
- Red-brown eye in adults
- Black head and breast
- Purposeful, strutting walk
Behaviour & ecology
Territorial, curious, and startlingly social. Family groups hold a beat for years. They walk more than they hop, probe lawns for larvae, and will study a person the way a person studies a page. Spring defence of the nest is real; most birds never swoop, and those that do usually warn first.
Voice
One of the great songs of Australia: a flute of carolling phrases at first light, often in duet, liquid and slightly metallic. Alarm is a short, sharp yodel.
On the Peninsula
Throughout suburban Melbourne and the Peninsula — nature strips, ovals, coastal tea-tree edges, and any lawn that still holds grubs.
Season
Year-round. Song is richest in late winter and spring.
Diet
Ground invertebrates, the occasional small vertebrate, fruit, and (unwisely offered) scraps.
Conservation
Secure. A beneficiary of open suburban ground.
Lore & resonance
A magpie does not merely inhabit a street. It keeps it. The same bird will watch a household through seasons, remember a kind hand, and answer a familiar step with a low, considering carol. To be known by a magpie is a quiet form of citizenship.
If you would attract them
Leave a shallow dish of clean water in the open, not under dense cover. Skip mince and bread. If you must offer anything, a little good-quality insectivore mix on a tray, rarely, is kinder than daily handouts.
