View source for Australian magpie

{{Short description|Medium-sized black and white passerine bird}}
{{redirect-distinguish-text|Gymnorhina|Gymnorhinus, the genus of the [[Pinyon jay]]}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Pp-move|small=yes}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{use Australian English|date=February 2022}}
{{speciesbox
 | name                = Australian magpie 
 | status              = LC
 | status_system       = IUCN3.1
 | status_ref          = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Gymnorhina tibicen'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22706288A131945700 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22706288A131945700.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
 | image               = Cracticus tibicen hypoleuca male domain.jpg
 | image_caption       = ''G. tibicen hypoleuca'', [[Tasmania]]
 | genus               = Gymnorhina
 | species             = tibicen
 | parent_authority    = [[George Robert Gray|Gray, GR]], 1840
 | authority           = ([[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1801)
 | subdivision_ranks   = Subspecies
 | subdivision         = 9, see [[#Subspecies|text]]
 | synonyms            = ''Cracticus tibicen''
 | range_map           = Australian_Magpie_-_distribution.svg
 | range_map_caption   = Natural range
}}

[[File:Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) with juvenile Taveuni.jpg|thumb|Adult with juvenile<br />[[Taveuni]], Fiji]]

The '''Australian magpie''' ('''''Gymnorhina tibicen''''') is a black and white [[passerine]] bird native to [[Australia]] and southern [[New Guinea]], and [[Australian magpie in New Zealand|introduced to New Zealand]], and the [[Fiji|Fijian]] island of [[Taveuni]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kaplan |first1=Gisela |last2=Rogers |first2=Lesley J. |date=2013-07-23 |title=Stability of referential signalling across time and locations: testing alarm calls of Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) in urban and rural Australia and in Fiji |journal=PeerJ |volume=1 |article-number=e112 |doi=10.7717/peerj.112 |doi-access=free |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=3728765 |pmid=23904991}}</ref> Although once considered to be three separate [[species]], it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised [[subspecies]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramel |first=Gordon |date=2023-07-11 |title=The Australian Magpies (Cracticus tibicen) Information |url=https://earthlife.net/australian-magpies/ |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Earth Life |language=en-US}}</ref> A member of the [[Artamidae]], the Australian magpie is placed in its own [[genus]] ''Gymnorhina'' and is most closely related to the [[black butcherbird]] (''Melloria quoyi'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cake |first1=Martin |last2=Black |first2=Andrew |last3=Joseph |first3=Leo |date=2018 |title=The generic taxonomy of the Australian Magpie and Australo-Papuan butcherbirds is not all black-and-white |journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club |volume=138 |issue=4 |pages=346–347 |doi=10.25226/bboc.v138i4.2018.a6 |via=BioOne|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is not closely related to the [[Eurasian magpie]] (''[[Pica pica]]''), which is a [[corvid]].

The adult Australian magpie is a fairly robust bird ranging from {{convert|37|to|43|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length, with black and white [[plumage]], gold brown eyes and a solid wedge-shaped bluish-white and black bill. The male and female are similar in appearance, but can be distinguished by differences in back markings. The male has pure white feathers on the back of the head where the female has white blending to grey feathers. With its long legs, the Australian magpie walks rather than waddles or hops and spends much time on the ground.

Described as one of Australia's most accomplished [[songbird]]s, the Australian magpie has an array of complex vocalisations. It is [[omnivore|omnivorous]], with the bulk of its varied diet made up of [[invertebrate]]s. It is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range. Common and widespread, it has adapted well to human habitation and is a familiar bird of parks, gardens and farmland in Australia and New Guinea. This species is commonly fed by households around Australia, but in spring (and occasionally in autumn) a small minority of breeding magpies (almost always males) become aggressive, swooping and attacking those who approach their nests. Research has shown that magpies can recognise at least 100 different people, and may be less likely to swoop individuals they have befriended.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aap.com.au/vic-masks-could-fire-up-swooping-magpies/ |title=Vic masks could fire up swooping magpies |publisher=Australian Associated Press |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106135232/https://www.aap.com.au/vic-masks-could-fire-up-swooping-magpies/ }}</ref>

Over 1,000 Australian magpies [[Australian magpie in New Zealand|were introduced into New Zealand]] from 1864 to 1874,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heather |first1=Barrie |last2=Robertson |first2=Hugh |title=The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand |publisher=[[Penguin Books New Zealand]] |date=2015 | oclc=946520191 |isbn=978-0-143-57092-9 |page=413 | publication-place=Auckland, New Zealand}}</ref> but were subsequently deemed to be displacing native birds and are now treated as a pest species.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gwrc.govt.nz/pest-and-weed-central/?pwsystem=true&pwid=697 |title=Magpie |publisher=Greater Wellington Regional Council |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811051719/https://gwrc.govt.nz/pest-and-weed-central/?pwsystem=true&pwid=697 |url-status=live }}</ref> Introductions also occurred in the [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Fiji]], where the birds are not considered an [[invasive species]]. The Australian magpie is the mascot of several Australian and New Zealand sporting teams, including the [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood Magpies]], the [[Western Suburbs Magpies]], [[Port Adelaide Magpies]] and, in New Zealand, the [[Hawke's Bay Rugby Union|Hawke's Bay Magpies]].

==Taxonomy and nomenclature==
The Australian magpie was first described in the scientific literature by English ornithologist [[John Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham]] in 1801 as ''Coracias tibicen'', the type collected in the [[Port Jackson]] region.<ref>{{cite book | last=Latham | first=John | year=1801 | title=Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae | place=London | publisher=Leigh & Sotheby | language=la | page=xxvii | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33261401 | access-date=20 February 2018 | archive-date=5 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805193352/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33261401 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|There is some circumstantial evidence that Latham's ''Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae'' was not published until 1802 but this evidence is not considered to be of sufficient strength to justify changing the year from the 1801 specified on the title page.<ref name=dickinson>{{cite journal | last1=Schodde | first1=R. | last2=Dickinson | first2=E.C. | last3=Steinheimer | first3=F.D. | last4=Bock | first4=W.J. | year=2010 | title=The date of Latham's ''Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici'' 1801 or 1802? | journal=South Australian Ornithologist | volume=35 | issue=8 | pages=231–235 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265694915 | access-date=4 January 2016 | archive-date=1 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101171535/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265694915_The_date_of_Latham%27s_%27Supplementum_Indicis_Ornithologici_1801_or_1802 | url-status=live }}</ref>}} Its [[specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]] is derived from the [[ancient Greek]] "gumnos"  (bare, naked) combined with "rhis" or "rhinos"  (nostrils), alluding to their uncovered and bare nostrils<ref>https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/ausmag2/cur/introduction</ref> and the [[Latin]] ''tibicen'' "flute-player" or "piper" in reference to the bird's melodious call.<ref name=simpson>{{cite book | last = Simpson | first = D.P. | title = Cassell's Latin Dictionary | publisher = Cassell Ltd. | year = 1979 | edition = 5th | location = London | page = 883 | isbn = 0-304-52257-0}}</ref><ref name="Hig579">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=579.}}</ref>

An early recorded vernacular name is ''piping poller'', written on a painting by [[Thomas Watling]], one of a group known collectively as the [[Port Jackson Painter]],<ref name="nhmuk">{{cite web | author = The Natural History Museum, London | title = "Piping Roller", native name "Tarra-won-nang" | work = First Fleet Artwork Collection | publisher = The Natural History Museum, London | year = 2007 | url = http://www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/nature-online/first-fleet/nathist.dsml?sa=1&lastDisp=gall&notes=true&beginIndex=210&enlarged=true%3fimage&desc=true& | access-date = 2007-09-21 | archive-date = 9 February 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080209140020/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/nature-online/first-fleet/nathist.dsml?sa=1&lastDisp=gall&notes=true&beginIndex=210&enlarged=true%3Fimage&desc=true& | url-status = live }}</ref> some time between 1788 and 1792.<ref name="Kap3">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=3}}</ref> Other names used include ''piping crow-shrike'', ''piping shrike'', ''piper'', ''maggie'', ''flute-bird'' and ''organ-bird''.<ref name="Hig579" /> The term ''bell-magpie'' was proposed to help distinguish it from [[corvid]] [[magpie]]s but failed to gain wide acceptance.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=12.}}</ref>

''Tarra-won-nang'',<ref name="nhmuk" /> or ''djarrawunang'', ''wibung'', and ''marriyang'' were names used by the local [[Eora]] and [[Darug people|Darug]] inhabitants of the [[Sydney Basin]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Troy, Jakelin |year=1993| title=The Sydney language|publisher=Jakelin Troy| location=Canberra|isbn=0-646-11015-2|page=53}}</ref> ''Booroogong'' and ''garoogong'' were [[Wiradjuri]] words and Victorian terms included ''carrak'' ([[Jardwadjali]]),<ref>{{cite book |author=Wesson S |title=Aboriginal flora and fauna names of Victoria: As extracted from early surveyors' reports |year=2001 |publisher=Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages |location=Melbourne |isbn=0-9579360-0-1<!-- Corrected ISBN number printed on copyright page, 9-9579360-0-1, is incorrect. --> |url=http://www.northernplainscmn.com.au/documents/7-florafauna-compress.pdf |access-date=2007-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411003603/http://www.northernplainscmn.com.au/documents/7-florafauna-compress.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-11 }}</ref> ''kuruk'' (Western Victorian languages), ''kiri'' ([[Dhauwurd Wurrung language]]) and ''kurikari'' ([[Dhauwurd Wurrung language|Wuluwurrung]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Barry J. |title=The Bunganditj (Buwandik) language of the Mount Gambier Region |publisher=Pacific Linguistics (The Australian National University) |year=2003 |isbn=0-85883-495-2 |location=Canberra |page=149}}</ref> Among the [[Kamilaroi]], it is ''burrugaabu'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAM_BD.HTM |title=Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Dictionary: B-D |access-date=2008-10-25 |vauthors=Austin P, Nathan D |year=1998 |work=The Coombsweb: Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Dictionary |publisher=Australian National University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919120619/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAM_BD.HTM |archive-date=September 19, 2012 }}</ref> ''galalu'', or ''guluu''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAM_G.HTM |title=Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Dictionary: G |access-date=2008-10-25 |vauthors=Austin P, Nathan D |year=1998 |work=The Coombsweb: Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Dictionary |publisher=Australian National University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919120637/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAM_G.HTM |archive-date=September 19, 2012 }}</ref> In [[Western Australia]] it is known as ''warndurla'' among the [[Yinjibarndi language|Yindjibarndi]] people of the central and western [[Pilbara]],<ref name="juluwarlu">{{cite book|author=Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation|title=Garruragan: Yindjibarndi Fauna|publisher=Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation|year=2005|page=33|isbn=1-875946-54-3}}</ref> and ''koorlbardi'' amongst the south west [[Noongar]] peoples.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.noongarculture.org.au/glossary/noongar-word-list/|title=Noongar Word List &#124; Kaartdijin Noongar|access-date=25 January 2020|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330080109/https://www.noongarculture.org.au/glossary/noongar-word-list/|url-status=live}}</ref> In South Australia, where it is the State [[emblem]], it is the ''kurraka'' ([[Kaurna]]), ''murru'' ([[Narungga]]), ''urrakurli'' ([[Adnyamathanha]]), ''goora'' ([[Barngarla]]), ''konlarru'' ([[Ngarrindjeri]]) and ''tuwal'' ([[Bungandidj language|Bunganditj]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Barry J. |title=The Bunganditj (Buwandik) language of the Mount Gambier Region |publisher=Pacific Linguistics (The Australian National University) |year=2003 |isbn=0-85883-495-2 |location=Canberra |page=87}}</ref>

The bird was named for its similarity in colouration to the [[Eurasian magpie]], because it was a common practice for early European settlers to name plants and animals after European counterparts.<ref name="Kap3" /> However, the Eurasian magpie is a member of the [[Corvidae]], while its Australian counterpart is placed in the family [[Artamidae]] (although both are members of a broad [[corvida|corvid]] lineage{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}). The affinity of the Australian magpie with [[butcherbird]]s and [[currawong]]s was recognised early, and [[John Albert Leach]] placed the three genera in the family Cracticidae in 1914, after he had studied their musculature.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1071/MU914002 |last=Leach |first=John Albert |author-link=John Albert Leach |year=1914 |title=The myology of the Bell-Magpie (''Strepera'') and its position in classification |journal=Emu |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=2–38 |bibcode=1914EmuAO..14....2L |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1429902 |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801101418/https://zenodo.org/record/1429902 |url-status=live }}</ref> American ornithologists [[Charles Sibley]] and [[Jon Edward Ahlquist|Jon Ahlquist]] recognised the close relationship between [[woodswallow]]s and the butcherbirds in 1985, and combined them into a Cracticini [[clade]],<ref name="SibAhl85">{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/MU9850001|last1=Sibley | first1=CG | last2=Ahlquist | first2=JE | year=1985 | title=The phylogeny and classification of Australo-Papuan passerine birds|journal=Emu|volume=85|issue=1|pages=1–14|bibcode=1985EmuAO..85....1S }}</ref> in the Artamidae.<ref name="CB08">{{cite book |title=Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds|last1=Christidis | first1=L | last2=Boles | first2=WE |year=2008 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Canberra |isbn=978-0-643-06511-6 |page=196}}</ref>

The Australian magpie is placed in its own [[monotypic]] genus ''Gymnorhina'', which was introduced by the English zoologist [[George Robert Gray]] in 1840.<ref name=ioc>{{cite web | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2017 | title=Bristlehead, Butcherbirds, Woodswallows & Cuckooshrikes | work=World Bird List Version 7.3 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/butcherbirds/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=10 September 2017 | archive-date=7 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507001345/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/butcherbirds/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1840 | title=A List of the Genera of Birds: with an indication of the typical species of each genus | place=London | publisher=R. and J.E. Taylor | page=37 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668931 | access-date=20 February 2018 | archive-date=11 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111070333/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668931 | url-status=live }}</ref> The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek ''gumnos'' for "naked" or "bare" and ''rhis'', ''rhinos'' "nostrils".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=182 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n182/mode/1up }}</ref> Some authorities such as [[Glen Milton Storr|Glen Storr]] in 1952 and [[Leslie Christidis]] and Walter Boles in their 2008 checklist, have placed the Australian magpie in the butcherbird genus ''[[Cracticus]]'', arguing that its adaptation to ground-living is not enough to consider it a separate genus.<ref name="CB08" /><ref>{{cite journal | last=Storr | first=GM | author-link=Glen Milton Storr | year=1952 | title=Remarks on the Streperidae | journal=South Australian Ornithologist | volume=20 | pages=78–80 | url=http://www.birdssa.asn.au/images/saopdfs/Volume20/1952V20P078.pdf | access-date=10 September 2017 | archive-date=10 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110024042/https://birdssa.asn.au/images/saopdfs/Volume20/1952V20P078.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

A molecular genetic study published in 2013 showed that the Australian magpie is a [[sister group|sister taxon]] to the [[black butcherbird]] (''Melloria quoyi''), and that the two species are in turn sister to a clade that includes the other butcherbirds in the genus ''Cracticus''. The ancestor to the two species is thought to have split from the other butcherbirds between 8.3 and 4.2&nbsp;million years ago, during the late Miocene to early Pliocene, while the two species themselves diverged sometime during the Pliocene (5.8–3.0&nbsp;million years ago).<ref name="kearns13">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.020|author1=Kearns, Anna |author2=Joseph, Leo |author3=Cook, Lyn G |year=2013|title=A multilocus coalescent analysis of the speciational history of the Australo-Papuan Butcherbirds and their allies | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=66|issue=3|pages=941–52 |pmid=23219707|bibcode=2013MolPE..66..941K }}</ref>

The Australian magpie was subdivided into three species in the literature for much of the twentieth century: the black-backed magpie (''G. tibicen''), the white-backed magpie (''G. hypoleuca''), and the western magpie (''G. dorsalis'').<ref>{{cite journal|author=Serventy DL|year=1953|title=Some speciation problems in Australian birds: with particular reference to the relations between Bassian and Eyrean ?species-pairs?| journal=Emu |volume=53| issue=2| pages=131–45| doi=10.1071/MU953131 |bibcode=1953EmuAO..53..131S }}</ref> They were later noted to [[hybrid (biology)|hybridise]] readily where their territories crossed, with hybrid grey or striped-backed magpies being quite common. They were reclassified as one species by [[Julian Ralph Ford|Julian Ford]] in 1969,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ford J|year=1969|title= The distribution and status of the Australian Magpie in Western Australia|journal=Emu| volume=68|issue=4|pages=278–79|doi=10.1071/MU968278a |bibcode=1969EmuAO..68..278F }}</ref> and most recent authors have followed suit.<ref name="CB08" />

===Subspecies===
<!-- this article's Taxobox links here -->

There are currently thought to be nine subspecies of the Australian magpie, although there are large zones of overlap with intermediate forms between the taxa. There is a tendency for birds to become larger with increasing latitude, the southern subspecies being larger than those further north, except the Tasmanian form which is small.<ref name="Hig622">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=622.}}</ref> The original form, known as the '''black-backed magpie''' and classified as ''Gymnorhina tibicen'', has been split into four black-backed races:

* ''G. tibicen tibicen'', the [[Nominate subspecies#Nominate subspecies|nominate form]], is a large subspecies found in southeastern Queensland, from the vicinity of [[Moreton Bay]] through eastern [[New South Wales]] to [[Moruya, New South Wales]] almost to the Victorian border. It is coastal or near-coastal and is restricted to east of the [[Great Dividing Range]].<ref name="Hig579" />
* ''G. tibicen terraereginae'', found from [[Cape York Peninsula|Cape York]] and the [[Gulf Country]] southwards across [[Queensland]] to the coast between [[Halifax Bay]] in the north and south to the [[Mary River (Queensland)|Mary River]], and central and western [[New South Wales]] and into northern [[South Australia]], is a small to medium-sized subspecies.<ref name="Hig579" /> The plumage is the same as that of subspecies ''tibicen'', although the female has a shorter black tip to the tail. The wings and tarsus are shorter and the bill proportionally longer.<ref name="Hig620">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=620.}}</ref> It was originally described by [[Gregory Mathews]] in 1912, its subspecies name a [[Latin]] translation, ''terra'' "land" ''reginae'' "queen's" of "Queensland". Hybridisation with the large white-backed subspecies ''tyrannica'' occurs in northern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales; intermediate forms have black bands of varying sizes in white-backed area. Three-way hybridisation occurs between [[Bega, New South Wales|Bega]] and [[Batemans Bay]] on the New South Wales south coast.<ref name="Hig621">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=621.}}</ref>
* ''G. tibicen eylandtensis'', the [[Top End]] magpie, is found from the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] in northern Western Australia, across the [[Northern Territory]] through [[Arnhem Land]] and [[Groote Eylandt]] and into the Gulf Country.<ref name="Hig580" /> It is a small subspecies with a long and thinner bill, with birds of Groote Eylandt possibly even smaller than mainland birds.<ref name="Hig624">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=624.}}</ref> It has a narrow black terminal tailband,<ref name="Kap7">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=7.}}</ref> and a narrow black band; the male has a large white nape, the female pale grey.<ref name="Hig624" /> This form was initially described by [[Henry Luke White|H. L. White]] in 1922. It intergrades with subspecies ''terraereginae'' southeast of the [[Gulf of Carpentaria]].<ref name="Hig624" />
* ''G. tibicen longirostris'', the long-billed magpie, is found across northern [[Western Australia]], from [[Shark Bay]] into the [[Pilbara]].<ref name="Hig580" /> Named in 1903 by Alex Milligan, it is a medium-sized subspecies with a long thin bill. Milligan speculated the bill may have been adapted for the local conditions, slim fare meaning the birds had to pick at dangerous scorpions and spiders.<ref name="Kap6">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=6}}</ref> There is a broad area of hybridisation with the western ''dorsalis'' in southern central Western Australia from [[Shark Bay]] south to the [[Murchison River (Western Australia)|Murchison River]] and east to the [[Great Victoria Desert]].<ref name="Hig623">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=623.}}</ref>

The '''white-backed magpie''', originally described as ''Gymnorhina hypoleuca'' by [[John Gould]] in 1837, has also been split into races:
* ''G. tibicen tyrannica'', a very large white-backed form found from [[Twofold Bay]] on the New South Wales far south coast, across southern [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] south of the Great Dividing Range through to the [[Coorong]] in southeastern South Australia. It was first described by [[Richard Schodde|Schodde]] and [[Ian J. Mason|Mason]] in 1999.<ref name="Hig580" /> It has a broad black tail band.<ref name="Kap7" />
* ''G. tibicen telonocua'', found from [[Cowell, South Australia|Cowell]] south into the [[Eyre Peninsula|Eyre]] and [[Yorke Peninsula]]s in southern [[South Australia]], as well as the southwestern [[Gawler Ranges]]. Described by Schodde and Mason in 1999,<ref name="Hig580" /> its subspecific name is an anagram of ''leuconota'' "white-backed". It is very similar to ''tyrannica'', differing in having a shorter wing and being lighter and smaller overall. The bill is relatively short compared with other magpie subspecies. Intermediate forms are found in the [[Mount Lofty Ranges]] and on [[Kangaroo Island]].<ref name="Hig622" />
* ''G. tibicen hypoleuca'' now refers to a small white-backed subspecies with a short compact bill and short wings, found on [[King Island (Tasmania)|King]] and [[Flinders Island]]s, as well as [[Tasmania]].<ref name="Hig580" />
* The '''western magpie''', ''G. tibicen dorsalis'' was originally described as a separate species by [[Archibald James Campbell|A. J. Campbell]] in 1895 and is found in the fertile south-west corner of Western Australia.<ref name="Hig580" /> The adult male has a white back and most closely resembles subspecies ''telonocua'', though it is a little larger with a longer bill and the black tip of its tail plumage is narrower. The female is unusual in that it has a scalloped black or brownish-black mantle and back; the dark feathers there are edged with white. This area appears a more uniform black as the plumage ages and the edges are worn away. Both sexes have black thighs.<ref name="Hig623" />
* The '''New Guinean magpie''', ''G. tibicen papuana'', is a little-known subspecies found in southern [[New Guinea]].<ref name="Hig580" /> The adult male has a mostly white back with a narrow black stripe, and the female a blackish back; the black feathers here are tipped with white similar to subspecies ''dorsalis''. It has a long deep bill resembling that of subspecies ''longirostris''.<ref name="black86">{{cite journal|last=Black|year=1986|title=The Taxonomic Affinity of the New Guinean Magpie ''Gymnorhina tibicen papuana''|journal=Emu|volume=86|issue=2|pages=65–70|doi=10.1071/MU9860065|first=A|bibcode=1986EmuAO..86...65B }}</ref> Genetically it is closely related to a western lineage of Australian magpies comprising subspecies ''dorsalis'', ''longirostris'' and ''eylandtensis'', suggesting their ancestors occupied in savannah country that was a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia and was submerged around 16,500 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Relationships of the New Guinean subspecies, ''Gymnorhina tibicen papuana'', of the Australian Magpie: an assessment from DNA sequence data |journal=Emu | year=2017| first1=Alicia |last1=Toon | first2=Alex |last2=Drew| first3=Ian J. |last3= Mason| first4=Jane M. |last4=Hughes | first5= Leo |last5=Joseph| volume=117 |issue=4 |pages = 1–11 | doi=10.1080/01584197.2017.1324249|bibcode=2017EmuAO.117..305T |s2cid=90970937 }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120">
File:Magpie samcem05.jpg|''G. t. terraereginae''<br />Queensland
File:Australian Magpie 1, jjron, 5.07 highlight.jpg|''G. t. tyrannica''<br />southern Victorian coast
File:Magpie on dead branch02.jpg|Male ''G. t. tyrannica''<br />showing prominent white back
Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen tibicen) male Sydney.jpg|''G. t. tibicen''<br />Sydney, NSW
File:Tasmanian magpie pair.jpg|Male (left) and female (right) Tasmanian magpies
Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen telonocua) female Adelaide.jpg|''G. t. telonocua''<br />Adelaide, SA
File:G tibicen dorsalis gnangarra.jpg|''G. t. dorsalis'', female<br />The plumage at the nape is a starker white in males
</gallery>

==Description==
[[File:Cracticus tibicen tibicen juvenile ANBG.jpg|140px|thumb|Immature, with dark irises and less distinct plumage, [[Australian National Botanic Gardens]], [[Canberra]]]]
The adult magpie ranges from {{convert|37|to|43|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length with a {{convert|65|–|85|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} wingspan, and weighing {{convert|220|–|350|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Hig580">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=580}}</ref> Its robust wedge-shaped bill is bluish-white bordered with black, with a small hook at the tip. The black legs are long and strong.<ref name="Hig618">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=618}}</ref> The plumage is pure glossy black and white; both sexes of all subspecies have black heads, wings and underparts with white shoulders. The tail has a black terminal band. The nape is white in the male and light greyish-white in the female. Mature magpies have dull red eyes, in contrast to the yellow eyes of currawongs and white eyes of Australian ravens and crows.<ref name="Hig581" /> The main difference between the subspecies lies in the "saddle" markings on the back below the nape. Black-backed subspecies have a black saddle and white nape.<ref name="Hig580" /> White-backed subspecies have a wholly white nape and saddle. The male Western Australian subspecies ''dorsalis'' is also white-backed, but the equivalent area in the female is scalloped black.<ref name="Hig581">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=581}}</ref>

Juveniles have lighter greys and browns amidst the starker blacks and whites of their plumage;<ref name="Simpsday">{{cite book |vauthors=Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P | title = Field Guide to the Birds of Australia | publisher=Viking O'Neil | year=1993 | location = Ringwood, Victoria | page = 392 | isbn = 0-670-90478-3}}</ref> two- or three-year-old birds of both sexes closely resemble and are difficult to distinguish from adult females.<ref name="Hig618" /> Immature birds have dark brownish eyes until around two years of age.<ref name="Hig618" /> Australian magpies generally live to around 25 years of age,<ref name="Kapvii">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=vii}}</ref> though ages of up to 30 years have been recorded.<ref>{{cite book |author=QNPWS (Queensland National Parks & Wildlife Service)|title=Living with Wildlife:The Magpie |year=1993 |publisher=Department of Environment and Heritage, Queensland |location=Brisbane }}</ref> The reported age of first breeding has varied according to area, but the average is between three and five years.<ref name="Hig595">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=595}}</ref>

Well-known and easily recognisable, the Australian magpie is unlikely to be confused with any other species. The [[pied butcherbird]] has a similar build and plumage, but has white underparts unlike the former species' black underparts. The [[magpie-lark]] is a much smaller and more delicate bird with complex and very different banded black and white plumage. Currawong species have predominantly dark plumage and heavier bills.<ref name="Hig581" />

===Vocalisations===
{{listen|filename=Magpiesong.ogg|title= Song|description=The "gargled" vocalisations of the Australian magpie.}}
One of Australia's most highly regarded songbirds, the Australian magpie has a wide variety of calls, many of which are complex. Pitch may vary as much as four octaves,<ref name="Hig605">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=605}}</ref> and the bird can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as dogs and horses.<ref name="Hig606">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=606}}</ref> Magpies have even been noted to mimic human speech when living in close proximity to humans.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=112}}</ref> Its complex, musical, warbling call is one of the most familiar Australian bird sounds. In [[Denis Glover]]'s poem "[[The Magpies]]", the mature magpie's call is described as ''quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle'',<ref>{{cite book|vauthors=Falla RA, Sibson RB, Turbott EG |title=A field guide to the birds of New Zealand|publisher=Collins|location=Auckland|year=1972|page=235|isbn=0-00-212022-4}}</ref> one of the most famous lines in New Zealand poetry, and as ''waddle giggle gargle paddle poodle'', in the children's book ''Waddle Giggle Gargle'' by [[Pamela Allen]].<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=viii}}</ref> The bird has been known to mimic environmental sounds as well, including the noises made by emergency vehicles during the [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season|2019-20 "Black Summer" bushfire season]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/asia/australia-magpie-mimics-siren-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|title=Magpie mimics emergency sirens as deadly fires rage|first=Michelle|last=Lim|website=CNN|date=3 January 2020|access-date=2020-01-05|archive-date=27 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927030609/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/asia/australia-magpie-mimics-siren-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

When alone, a magpie may make a quiet musical warbling; these complex melodious warbles or subsongs are pitched at 2–4  K[[Hertz|Hz]] and do not carry for long distances. These songs have been recorded as being up to 70 minutes long, and are more frequent after the end of the breeding season.<ref name="Kap111">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=111}}</ref> Pairs of magpies often take up a loud musical calling known as ''carolling'' to advertise or defend their territory; one bird initiates the call with the second (and sometimes more) joining in.<ref name="Kap109">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=109}}</ref> Often preceded by warbling,<ref name="Hig606" /> carolling is pitched between 6 and 8&nbsp;kHz and has 4–5 elements with slurring indistinct noise in between.<ref name="Kap36">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=36}}</ref> Birds adopt a specific posture by tilting their heads back, expanding their chests, and moving their wings backwards.<ref name="Kap37">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=37}}</ref> A group of magpies sing a short repetitive version of carolling just before dawn (''dawn song''), and at twilight after sundown (''dusk song''), in winter and spring.<ref name="Hig606" />

Fledgling and juvenile magpies emit a repeated short and loud (80 [[Decibel|dB]]), high-pitched (8&nbsp;kHz) [[Begging behavior in animals|begging call]].<ref name="Kap76">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=76}}</ref> Magpies may indulge in beak-clapping to warn other species of birds.<ref name="Kap107">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=107}}</ref> They employ several high pitched (8–10&nbsp;kHz) alarm or rallying calls when intruders or threats are spotted. Distinct calls have been recorded for the approach of eagles and monitor lizards.<ref name="Kap110">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=110}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:Australian Magpie Serenade.webm|A trio of Australian magpies break into song
File:Magpie, aggressive.JPG|Magpie in an aggressive display and call
</gallery>

==Distribution and habitat==
The Australian magpie is found in the [[Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands|Trans-Fly region]] of southern New Guinea, between the [[Oriomo River]] and  [[Muli Strait]], and across most of Australia, bar the tip of [[Cape York Peninsula|Cape York]],<ref name="Hig583">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=583}}</ref> the [[Gibson Desert|Gibson]] and [[Great Sandy Desert]]s, and the southwest of Tasmania.<ref name="Hig584">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=584}}</ref>

The Australian magpie prefers open areas such as grassland, fields and residential areas such as parks, gardens, golf courses, and streets, with scattered trees or forest nearby. Birds nest and shelter in trees but forage mainly on the ground in these open areas.<ref name="Hig582">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=582}}</ref> It has also been recorded in mature [[pine plantation]]s; birds only occupy rainforest and wet [[sclerophyll forest]] in the vicinity of cleared areas.<ref name="Hig583" /> In general, evidence suggests the range and population of the Australian magpie has increased with land-clearing, although local declines in Queensland due to a 1902 drought, and in Tasmania in the 1930s have been noted; the cause for the latter is unclear but rabbit baiting, pine tree removal, and spread of the [[masked lapwing]] (''Vanellus miles'') have been implicated.<ref name="Hig585">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=585}}</ref>

===New Zealand===
{{main|Australian magpie in New Zealand}}
Birds taken mainly from Tasmania and Victoria were introduced into New Zealand by local [[Acclimatisation society|Acclimatisation Societies]] of Otago and Canterbury in the 1860s, with the Wellington Acclimatisation Society releasing 260 birds in 1874. White-backed forms are spread on both the North and eastern South Island, while black-backed forms are found in the [[Hawke's Bay region]].<ref name="Long81">{{cite book |title=Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments |last=Long |first=John L. |year=1981 |publisher=Reed |location=Terrey Hills, Sydney |isbn=0-589-50260-3|page=344}}</ref> Magpies were introduced into New Zealand to control agricultural pests, and were therefore a protected species until 1951.<ref name="NZEncyc">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheSettledLandscape/IntroducedPlantsAndAnimals/IntroducedLandBirds/6/mi|title=Introduced land birds: Australian Magpie|last=Troup|first=Christina|date=20 November 2008|encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand|publisher=Ministry for Culture & Heritage (New Zealand)|access-date=2008-12-23|archive-date=10 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510003927/http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheSettledLandscape/IntroducedPlantsAndAnimals/IntroducedLandBirds/6/mi|url-status=live}}</ref> They are thought to affect native New Zealand bird populations such as the [[tūī]] and [[kererū]], sometimes raiding nests for eggs and nestlings,<ref name="NZEncyc" /> although studies by [[Waikato University]] have cast doubt on this,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03014223.2006.9518427|author1=Morgan, D |author2=Waas, J |author3=Innes, J |year=2006|title=The relative importance of Australian magpies (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') as nest predators of rural birds in New Zealand|journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology|volume=33|pages=17–29|doi-access=free}}</ref> and much blame on the magpie as a predator in the past has been anecdotal only.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00545.x|vauthors=Morgan D, Waas J, Innes J|year=2005|title=Do territorial and non-breeding Australian Magpies ''Gymnorhina tibicen'' influence the local movements of rural birds in New Zealand?|journal=Ibis|volume=148|issue=2|pages=330–42}}</ref> Introductions also occurred in the [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Sri Lanka]], although the species has failed to become established. It has become established in western [[Taveuni]] in [[Fiji]], however.<ref name="Long81" />

==Behaviour==
[[File:Magpie inflight.jpg|thumb|right|Female, subsp. ''tyrannica'', in flight]] [[File:Magpie - Australia - 2023.webm|thumb|thumbtime=5|Australian magpie vocalizing and then flying off.]] [[File:SubmissiveMagpie.jpg|thumb|right|Submissive juvenile]]
The Australian magpie is almost exclusively [[diurnality|diurnal]], although it may call into the night, like some other members of the Artamidae.<ref name="Kap25">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=25}}</ref> Natural predators of magpies include various species of [[monitor lizard]] and the [[barking owl]].<ref name="Kap512">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|pp=51–52}}</ref> Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating [[house sparrow]]s, mice, rats or rabbits that have eaten poison bait.<ref name="Hig587">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=587}}</ref> The [[Australian raven]] may take nestlings left unattended.<ref name="Kap51">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=51}}</ref>

On the ground, the Australian magpie moves around by walking, and is the only member of the Artamidae to do so; woodswallows, butcherbirds and currawongs all tend to hop with legs parallel. The magpie has a short [[femur]] (thigh bone), and long lower leg below the knee, suited to walking rather than running, although birds can run in short bursts when hunting prey.<ref name="Kap1920">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|pp=19–20}}</ref>

The magpie is generally sedentary and territorial throughout its range, living in groups occupying a territory, or in flocks or fringe groups. A group may occupy and defend the same territory for many years.<ref name="Hig587" /> Much energy is spent defending a territory from intruders, particularly other magpies, and different behaviours are seen with different opponents. The sight of a [[bird of prey|raptor]] results in a rallying call by sentinel birds and subsequent coordinated mobbing of the intruder. Magpies place themselves either side of the bird of prey so that it will be attacked from behind should it strike a defender, and harass and drive the raptor to some distance beyond the territory.<ref name="Kap91">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=91}}</ref> A group will use carolling as a signal to advertise ownership and warn off other magpies. In the ''negotiating display'', the one or two dominant magpies parade along the border of the defended territory while the rest of the group stand back a little and look on. The leaders may fluff their feathers or caroll repeatedly. In a ''group strength display'', employed if both the opposing and defending groups are of roughly equal numbers, all magpies will fly and form a row at the border of the territory.<ref name="Kap81">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=81}}</ref> The defending group may also resort to an aerial display where the dominant magpies, or sometimes the whole group, swoop and dive while calling to warn an intruding magpie's group.<ref name="Kap82">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=82}}</ref>

A wide variety of displays are seen, with aggressive behaviours outnumbering pro-social ones.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Brown ED, Veltman CJ |year=1987 |title= Ethogram of the Australian Magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') in comparison to other Cracticidae and ''Corvus'' species |journal=Ethology |volume=76|issue=4|pages=309–33|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.1987.tb00692.x|bibcode=1987Ethol..76..309B }}</ref> Crouching low and uttering quiet begging calls are common signs of submission.<ref name="Hig601">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=601}}</ref> The ''manus flutter'' is a submissive display where a magpie will flutter the [[Flight feather#Primaries|primary feathers]] in its wings.<ref name="Kap105">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=105}}</ref> A magpie, particularly a juvenile, may also fall, roll over on its back and expose its underparts.<ref name="Kap105" /> Birds may fluff up their flank feathers as an aggressive display or preceding an attack.<ref name="Kap106">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=106}}</ref> Young birds display various forms of play behaviour, either by themselves or in groups, with older birds often initiating the proceedings with juveniles. These may involve picking up, manipulating or tugging at various objects such as sticks, rocks or bits of wire, and handing them to other birds. A bird may pick up a feather or leaf and fly off with it, with other birds pursuing and attempting to bring down the leader by latching onto its tail feathers. Birds may jump on each other and even engage in mock fighting. Play may even take place with other species such as [[blue-faced honeyeater]]s and [[Australasian pipit]]s.<ref name="Hig599">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=599}}</ref>

A 2022 study showed cooperative behaviour, along with a moderate level of problem-solving, when magpies (''G. tibicen'') assisted one another to remove [[tracking device]]s placed on their bodies in a specially designed harness by researchers for conservation purposes. This was the first recorded example of birds acting in this way to remove tracking devices, a form of [[rescue behaviour]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Potvin | first=Dominique | title=Altruism in birds? Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices | website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] | date=22 February 2022 | url=http://theconversation.com/altruism-in-birds-magpies-have-outwitted-scientists-by-helping-each-other-remove-tracking-devices-175246 | access-date=24 February 2022 | archive-date=24 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224005523/http://theconversation.com/altruism-in-birds-magpies-have-outwitted-scientists-by-helping-each-other-remove-tracking-devices-175246 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Crampton | first1=Joel | last2=Frère | first2=Celine H. | last3=Potvin | first3=Dominique A. | title=Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen cooperate to remove tracking devices | journal=[[Australian Field Ornithology]] | volume=39 | date=15 February 2022 | pages=7–11 | url=https://www.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2247 | publisher=[[Birdlife Australia]] | access-date=24 February 2022 | doi=10.20938/afo39007011 | s2cid=246899904 | doi-access=free | archive-date=24 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000927/https://www.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2247 | url-status=live | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Breeding===
Magpies have a long breeding season which varies in different parts of the country; in northern parts of Australia they will breed between June and September, but not commence until August or September in cooler regions, and may continue until January in some alpine areas.<ref name="Kap48">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=48}}</ref> The nest is a bowl-shaped structure made of sticks and lined with softer material such as grass and bark. Near human habitation, synthetic material may be incorporated.<ref name="Beru03">{{cite book | last = Beruldsen | first = G | title = Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs| publisher = self |year = 2003| location = Kenmore Hills, Qld| page = 373|isbn=0-646-42798-9}}</ref> Nests are built exclusively by females and generally placed high up in a tree fork, often in an exposed position.<ref name="Kap4951">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|pp=49–51}}</ref> The trees used are most commonly [[eucalypt]]s, although a variety of other native trees as well as introduced [[pine]], ''[[Crataegus]]'', and [[elm]] have been recorded.<ref name="Hig609">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=609}}</ref> Other bird species, such as the [[yellow-rumped thornbill]] (''Acanthiza chrysorrhoa''), [[willie wagtail]] (''Rhipidura leucophrys''), [[southern whiteface]] (''Aphelocephala leucopsis''), and (less commonly) [[noisy miner]] (''Manorina melanocephala''), often nest in the same tree as the magpie. The first two species may even locate their nest directly beneath a magpie nest, while the diminutive [[striated pardalote]] (''Pardalotus striatus'') has been known to make a burrow for breeding into the base of the magpie nest itself. These incursions are all tolerated by the magpies.<ref name="Hig610">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=610}}</ref> The [[channel-billed cuckoo]] (''Scythrops novaehollandiae'') is a notable brood parasite in eastern Australia; magpies will raise cuckoo young, which eventually outcompete the magpie nestlings.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=53}}</ref>

The Australian magpie produces a clutch of two to five light blue or greenish eggs, which are oval in shape and about {{convert|30|by|40|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Kap64">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=64}}</ref> The chicks hatch synchronously around 20 days after [[Egg incubation|incubation]] begins; like all [[passerine]]s, the chicks are [[altricial]]—they are born pink, naked, and blind with large feet, a short broad beak and a bright red throat. Their eyes are fully open at around 10 days. Chicks develop fine downy feathers on their head, back and wings in the first week, and pinfeathers in the second week. The black and white colouration is noticeable from an early stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=66}}</ref> Nestlings are usually fed exclusively by the female, though the male magpie will feed his partner.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|p=65}}</ref> Individual males do feed nestlings and fledglings, to varying degrees, from sporadic to equal frequency to the female. The Australian magpie is known to engage in [[cooperative breeding]], and helper birds will assist in feeding and raising young.<ref name="Hig595" /> This does vary from region to region, and with the size of the group—the behaviour is rare or non-existent in pairs or small groups.<ref name="Hig595" />

Juvenile magpies begin foraging on their own three weeks after leaving the nest, and mostly feeding themselves by six months old. Some birds continue begging for food until eight or nine months of age, but are usually ignored. Birds reach adult size by their first year.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Population ecology of the Australian Black-backed Magpie, Royal Penguin, and Silver Gull |last=Carrick |first=Robert |year=1972 |journal=U S Dept Interior Res Report|volume=2|pages=41–99}}</ref> The age at which young birds disperse varies across the country, and depends on the aggressiveness of the dominant adult of the corresponding sex; males are usually evicted at a younger age. Many leave at around a year old, but the age of departure may range from eight months to four years.<ref name="Hig596">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=596}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:Magnest3.JPG|Nest in a [[banksia]] tree
File:Gymnorhina tibicen, nesting.JPG|Western magpie female (note scalloped back) collecting nesting material
</gallery>

===Feeding===
The Australian magpie is omnivorous, eating various items located at or near ground level including invertebrates such as [[earthworm]]s, [[millipede]]s, [[snail]]s, [[spider]]s and [[scorpion]]s as well as a wide variety of [[insect]]s—[[cockroach]]es, ants, earwigs, beetles, [[cicada]]s, moths and caterpillars and other larvae. Insects, including large adult [[grasshoppers]], may be seized mid-flight. [[Skink]]s, frogs, small birds, mice and other small animals as well as carrion, grain, tubers, figs and walnuts have also been noted as components of their diet.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Barker RD, Vestkens WJ |title=Food of Australian Birds: Vol. 2 – Passerines |year=1990|page=557|publisher= CSIRO|isbn=0-643-05115-5}}</ref><ref>Russell, Eleanor, et al. "Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina Tibicen)." Birds of the World, Mar. 2020, doi:10.2173/bow.ausmag2.01.</ref> 

It has even learnt to safely eat the poisonous [[cane toad]] by flipping it over and consuming the underparts.<ref name="SCU">{{cite web|url=http://www.scu.edu.au/news/media.php?item_id=1023&action=show_item&type=M|title=Birds learn to eat cane toads safely|last=Marchant|first=Gillian|date=26 November 2007|work=Southern Cross University website|publisher=Southern Cross University|access-date=2009-05-09|archive-date=27 November 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121127132338/http://www.scu.edu.au/news/media.php?item_id=1023&action=show_item&type=M}}</ref> Predominantly a ground feeder, the Australian magpie paces open areas methodically searching for insects and their larvae.<ref name="Kap234">{{harvnb|Kaplan|2004|pp=23–24}}</ref> One study showed birds were able to find [[Scarabaeidae|scarab beetle]] larvae by sound or vibration.<ref name="Velt89">{{cite journal |vauthors=Veltman CJ, Hickson RE |year=1989 |title=Predation by Australian magpies ''(Gymnorhina tibicen)'' on pasture invertebrates: are non-territorial birds less successful? |journal=Australian Journal of Ecology |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=319–26 |doi= 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1989.tb01440.x|bibcode=1989AusEc..14..319V }}</ref> Birds use their bills to probe into the earth or otherwise overturn debris in search of food.<ref name="Hig589">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=589}}</ref> Smaller prey are swallowed whole, although magpies rub off the stingers of bees, stinging ants and wasps and irritating hairs of caterpillars before swallowing.<ref name="Hig590">{{harvnb|Higgins|Peter|Cowling|2006|p=590}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:Australian Magpie feeding.jpg|A juvenile begs for food from its father.
File:Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen tibicen) with Cicada (Church Point, NSW, 2017-12-27).png|With a [[cicada]] at [[Church Point, New South Wales|Church Point]]
</gallery>

==Swooping==
Magpies are ubiquitous in urban areas all over Australia, and have become accustomed to people. A small percentage of birds become highly aggressive during breeding season from late August to late November – early December or occasionally late February to late April – early May, and will swoop and sometimes attack passersby. Attacks begin as the eggs hatch, increase in frequency and severity as the chicks grow, and tail off as the chicks leave the nest.<ref name="Jones4344">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|pp=43–44}}</ref><ref name="Joneswildlifemanagement2008" /> 

Magpie attacks occur in most parts of Australia, though Tasmanian magpies are much less aggressive than their mainland counterparts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Georgie |date=2 October 2019 |title=Tasmanian magpies don't swoop, but no-one knows why |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-02/why-dont-tasmanian-magpies-swoop/11561036 |work=ABC Radio |location=Hobart, Tas |access-date=2 October 2019 |archive-date=2 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002064940/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-02/why-dont-tasmanian-magpies-swoop/11561036 |url-status=live }}</ref> Magpie attacks can cause injuries, typically wounds to the head.<ref name="Jones52">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=52}}</ref> Being unexpectedly swooped while cycling can result in loss of control of the bicycle, which may cause injury or even fatal accidents.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49711147| title = Magpie attack: Australian cyclist dies while fleeing swooping bird| date = September 16, 2019| access-date = September 16, 2019| work = BBC News| archive-date = 16 September 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190916123002/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49711147| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/shortreps/magpies.html |title=Injuries involving magpies |access-date=2008-10-14 |last=Kreisfeld |first=Renate |date=9 October 1997 |work=Research Centre for Injury Studies |publisher=Flinders University, Adelaide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724003350/http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/shortreps/magpies.html |archive-date=2008-07-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bq.org.au/cycle-info/hazards.shtml |title=Hazards: Magpies |access-date=2008-10-14 |year=2006 |work=Bicycle Queensland website |publisher=Bicycle Queensland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907232355/http://www.bq.org.au/cycle-info/hazards.shtml |archive-date=2008-09-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/boy-killed-trying-to-avoid-magpie-20100909-152sr.html |title=Boy killed trying to avoid magpie|work=Brisbane Times|date=9 September 2010|access-date=10 September 2010|publisher=Fairfax Publications| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100911052424/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/boy-killed-trying-to-avoid-magpie-20100909-152sr.html| archive-date= 11 September 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> 

Magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviours to drive off intruders. Least threatening are alarm calls and distant swoops, where birds fly within several metres from behind and perch nearby. Next in intensity are close swoops, where a magpie will swoop in from behind or the side and audibly "snap" their beaks or even peck or bite at the face, neck, ears or eyes. More rarely, a bird may dive-bomb and strike the intruder's (usually a cyclist's) head with its chest. A magpie may rarely attack by landing on the ground in front of a person and lurching up and landing on the victim's chest and pecking at the face and eyes.<ref name="Jones48">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=48}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/15/australian-man-suffers-double-eye-injury-after-conversation-with-magpie-turns-ugly|title=Australian man suffers double eye injury in magpie swooping attack after 'conversation' turns ugly|date=15 October 2020|access-date=25 February 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326203036/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/15/australian-man-suffers-double-eye-injury-after-conversation-with-magpie-turns-ugly|url-status=live}}</ref> 

===Targets===
The percentage of magpies that swoop has been difficult to estimate but is less than 9%.<ref name="Jones37">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=37}}</ref> Almost all attacking birds (around 99%) are male,<ref name="Jones38">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=38}}</ref><ref name="Joneswildlifemanagement2008">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Darryl |editor1-last=Lunney |editor1-first=Daniel |title=Wildlife management in the extreme: managing Magpies and mothers in a suburban environment |date=2008 |pages=9–14 |publisher=Royal Zoological Society of NSW |isbn=978-0-9803272-2-9 |url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/23629 |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117100137/https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/23629 |url-status=live }}</ref> and they are generally known to attack pedestrians at around {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} from their nest, and cyclists at around {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Jones3940">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|pp=39–40}}</ref> There appears to be some specificity in choice of attack targets, with the majority of individuals specializing on either pedestrians or cyclists.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Evidence of target specificity in attacks by Australian magpies on humans|last1=Warne|first1=R. M.|last2=Jones|first2=D. N.|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=30|issue=3|pages=265–267|doi=10.1071/WR01108|year=2003|bibcode=2003WildR..30..265W }}</ref> 

Younger people, lone people, and people travelling quickly (i.e., runners and cyclists) appear to be targeted most often by swooping magpies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that if a magpie sees a human trying to rescue a chick that has fallen from its nest, the bird will view this help as predation, and will become more aggressive to humans from then on.<ref name="Joneswildlifemanagement2008" /> Some attacks have indirectly been fatal.  For example, in 2021, a Brisbane woman tripped and fell onto her infant while attempting to avoid a swooping, and the infant died.<ref>{{cite web|first=Namita|last=Singh|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/magpie-baby-death-brisbane-park-b1899437.html|title=Magpie attack leads to death of baby girl in Australia|date=9 August 2021|access-date=25 February 2022|website=[[The Independent]]|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326202931/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/magpie-baby-death-brisbane-park-b1899437.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:Swooping.jpg|A territorial magpie swoops a cyclist.
File:Magpie chasing Brown Goshawk (Immature).jpg|A magpie defending its territory from a [[brown goshawk]]
</gallery>

===Prevention===
Magpies are a protected native species in Australia, so it is illegal to kill or harm them. However, some states provide exceptions for a magpie that attacks a human, allowing a particularly aggressive bird to be killed.  Such a provision is made, for example, in section 54 of the South Australian [[National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972|National Parks and Wildlife Act]].<ref name="NPWA1972">{{cite web |title=National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 |url= https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/__legislation/lz/c/a/national%20parks%20and%20wildlife%20act%201972/current/1972.56.auth.pdf |work=South Australian Legislation |publisher=Government of South Australia |access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref> More commonly, an aggressive bird will be caught and relocated to an unpopulated area.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Management of aggressive Australian magpies by translocation|journal=Wildlife Research|first=Darryl N.|last=Jones|author2=Thomas Nealson |volume=30|issue=2|pages=167–77 |doi= 10.1071/WR01102|year=2003|bibcode=2003WildR..30..167J }}</ref> Magpies have to be moved a considerable distance, as almost all are able to find their way home from distances of less than {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=119}}</ref> Removing the nest is of no use, as birds will breed again and possibly be more aggressive the second time around.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=115}}</ref>

If it is necessary to walk near the nest, wearing a broad-brimmed or legionnaire's hat or using an umbrella will deter attacking birds, but beanies and bicycle helmets are of little value, as birds attack the sides of the head and neck.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=104}}</ref> Magpies prefer to swoop at the back of the head; therefore, keeping the magpie in sight at all times can discourage the bird. A basic disguise such as sunglasses worn on the back of the head may fool the magpie as to where a person is looking. Eyes painted on hats or helmets will deter attacks on pedestrians but not cyclists.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=105–6}}</ref> Cyclists can deter attack by attaching a long pole with a flag to a bike,<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|pp=106–7}}</ref> and the use of [[cable tie]]s on helmets has become common and appears to be effective.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-&-riding/10754 |title=Swooping birds including magpies and plovers |year=2008 |work=Bicycle Victoria website |publisher=Bicycle Victoria |access-date=2008-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910092056/http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-%26-riding/10754 |archive-date=September 10, 2010 }}</ref>  

Some claim that hand-feeding magpies can reduce the risk of swooping. Magpies will become accustomed to being fed by humans, and although they are wild, will return to the same place looking for handouts. The idea is that humans thereby appear less of a threat to the nesting birds. Although this has not been studied systematically, there are reports of its success.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=103}}</ref> 

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:Magpie swooping sign.JPG|Magpie swooping sign at [[Queanbeyan]], NSW
File:Hedgehog hat.JPG|Cyclist wearing a helmet with "spikes" to ward off diving magpies
</gallery>

==Cultural references==
[[File:Big Swoop December 2022.jpg|thumb|alt=Colour photo of a sculpture of a bird|The sculpture ''[[Big Swoop]]'' in central Canberra. It depicts one of the magpies that live in the city centre.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=Megan |title=Good news: Big Swoop is coming home to Garema Place soon |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7886963/good-news-big-swoop-is-coming-home-to-garema-place-soon/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=The Canberra Times |date=2 September 2022 |language=en-AU |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210004400/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7886963/good-news-big-swoop-is-coming-home-to-garema-place-soon/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
The Australian magpie featured in aboriginal folklore around Australia. The [[Yindjibarndi people]] of the [[Pilbara]] in the northwest of the country used the bird as a signal for sunrise, awakening them with its call. They were also familiar with its highly territorial nature, and it features in a song in their ''Burndud'', or songs of customs.<ref name="juluwarlu" /> It was a totem bird of the people of the Illawarra region south of Sydney.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wesson |first=Sue |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/cultureheritage/illawarraAboriginalResourceUseIntroduction.pdf |title=Murni Dhungang Jirrar: Living in the Illawarra |publisher=New South Wales Government |year=2009 |page=6 |access-date=2009-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809212231/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/cultureheritage/illawarraAboriginalResourceUseIntroduction.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2017 }}</ref>

Under the name [[piping shrike]], the white-backed magpie was declared the official emblem of the [[Government of South Australia]] in 1901 by Governor [[Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson|Tennyson]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premcab.sa.gov.au/pdf/circulars/Shrike1.pdf |title=PC0008 – Use of the Piping Shrike |access-date=2008-10-14 |author=Strategic Communications Unit, Department of the Premier and Cabinet |date=June 2003 |work=Department of the Premier and Cabinet Circular |publisher=Government of South Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616072026/http://www.premcab.sa.gov.au/pdf/circulars/Shrike1.pdf |archive-date=June 16, 2005 }}</ref> and has featured on the South Australian flag since 1904.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premcab.sa.gov.au/emblems/shrike1.htm |title=State Badge of South Australia |access-date=2008-10-14 |author=Department of the Premier and Cabinet |date=30 June 2008 |work=Department of the Premier and Cabinet Circular |publisher=Government of South Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716230046/http://www.premcab.sa.gov.au/emblems/shrike1.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2012 }}</ref> The magpie is a commonly used emblem of sporting teams in Australia, and its brash, cocky attitude has been likened to the Australian psyche.<ref name="Jonesvii">{{harvnb|Jones|2002|p=vii}}</ref> Such teams tend to wear uniforms with black and white stripes. The [[Collingwood Football Club]] adopted the magpie from a visiting South Australian representative team in 1892.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afl.com.au/collingwoodfc/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5586/newsId/2295/default.aspx |title=The Beginning: Part One |access-date=2008-10-14 |date=25 September 2002 |work=Official Website of the Collingwood Football Club |publisher=AFL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318223916/http://www.afl.com.au/collingwoodfc/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5586/newsId/2295/default.aspx |archive-date=March 18, 2008 }}</ref> The [[Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club|Port Adelaide Magpies]] would likewise adopt the black and white colours and Magpie name in 1902.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/club/history |title=History |access-date=2014-12-25 |work=portadelaidefc.com.au |archive-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141217184115/http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/club/history |url-status=live }}</ref> Other examples include Brisbane's [[Souths Logan Magpies]]<ref name="Jonesvii" /> and Sydney's [[Western Suburbs Magpies]]. Disputes over who has been the first club to adopt the magpie emblem have been heated at times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/26/1053801337727.html |title=Port, Pies in black-and-white blue |access-date=2008-10-17 |vauthors=Lyon K, Shiell A, McDonald B |date=27 May 2003 |work=[[The Age]] |publisher=John Fairfax Holdings |archive-date=8 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508122903/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/26/1053801337727.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Another club, [[Glenorchy Football Club]] of Tasmania, was forced to change uniform design when placed in the same league as another club ([[Claremont Magpies]]) with the same emblem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glenorchymagpies.com.au/club-history.php |title=Glenorchy District Football Club – Brief History |access-date=2008-10-17 |year=2008 |work=Official Glenorchy District Football Club website |publisher=self |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619055756/http://www.glenorchymagpies.com.au/club-history.php |archive-date=June 19, 2010 }}</ref>

In New Zealand, the [[Hawke's Bay Rugby Union]] team, from [[Napier, New Zealand]], is also known as the magpies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hbmagpies.co.nz/|title=Hawke's Bay Magpies Official Site|year=2009|work=Hawke's Bay Magpies Official Website|access-date=2009-10-08|archive-date=22 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322071049/http://www.hbmagpies.co.nz/|url-status=live}}</ref> One of the best-known New Zealand poems is "[[The Magpies]]" by [[Denis Glover]], with its refrain "Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle", imitating the sound of the bird – and the popular New Zealand comic ''[[Footrot Flats]]'' features a magpie character by the name of Pew.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheSettledLandscape/IntroducedPlantsAndAnimals/IntroducedLandBirds/6/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/mi|title=Introduced land birds: Footrot Flats cartoon|last=Troup|first=Christina|date=2008-11-20|work=Introduced land birds|publisher=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|access-date=2008-12-23|archive-date=10 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510003848/http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheSettledLandscape/IntroducedPlantsAndAnimals/IntroducedLandBirds/6/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/mi|url-status=live}}</ref> Other magpies depicted in fiction include: Magpie in [[Colin Thiele]]'s 1974 children's book ''Magpie Island'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=2.3 An examination of Magpie Island by Colin Thiele |url=https://resource.acu.edu.au/acuskills/critlit/2_3.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=resource.acu.edu.au |archive-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322185807/https://resource.acu.edu.au/acuskills/critlit/2_3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Miss Magpie in ''[[The Adventures of Blinky Bill]]'',<ref>{{cite web | title=Miss Magpie Voices (Blinky Bill) | website=Behind The Voice Actors | url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Blinky-Bill/Miss-Magpie/ | access-date=29 September 2023 | archive-date=19 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819054655/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Blinky-Bill/Miss-Magpie/ | url-status=live }}</ref> and Penguin the magpie in ''[[Penguin Bloom]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-01-27 |title=The True Story Behind the New Netflix Film 'Penguin Bloom' |url=https://time.com/5933507/penguin-bloom-true-story/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |magazine=Time |language=en |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030034521/https://time.com/5933507/penguin-bloom-true-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The sculpture ''[[Big Swoop]]'' in central Canberra was installed in Garema Place on 16 March 2022.<ref name="The Canberra Times – 16 March 2022 – Celebrate Big Swoop's arrival in Garema Place on Saturday with free hot chips">{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=Megan |title=Celebrate Big Swoop's arrival in Garema Place on Saturday with free hot chips |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7661173/celebrate-big-swoops-arrival-with-free-hot-chips/ |access-date=11 February 2023 |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211112727/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7661173/celebrate-big-swoops-arrival-with-free-hot-chips/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 
The Australian Magpie won the inaugural [[Australian Bird of the Year]] poll conducted by ''[[Guardian Australia]]'' and [[BirdLife Australia]] in late 2017. The Australian magpie won the 2017 contest with 19,926 votes (13.3%), narrowly ahead of the [[Australian white ibis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/11/magpie-edges-out-white-ibis-and-kookaburra-as-australian-bird-of-the-year |title=Magpie edges out white ibis and kookaburra as Australian bird of the year |work=The Guardian Australia |last=Wahlquist |first=Calla |date=11 December 2017 |access-date=31 March 2018 |archive-date=1 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075412/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/11/magpie-edges-out-white-ibis-and-kookaburra-as-australian-bird-of-the-year |url-status=live }}</ref> The magpie slumped to fourth place in the 2019 poll,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zhou|first=Naaman|date=2019-11-14|title=Black-throated finch wins 2019 bird of the year with tawny frogmouth second|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/15/black-throated-finch-wins-2019-bird-of-the-year-as-tawny-frogmouth-comes-second|access-date=2021-10-08|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=5 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605002644/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/15/black-throated-finch-wins-2019-bird-of-the-year-as-tawny-frogmouth-comes-second|url-status=live}}</ref> and to ninth place in the 2021 poll.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cox|first=Lisa|date=2021-10-08|title=Superb fairywren crowned 2021 Australian bird of the year winner in hotly contested vote|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/08/superb-fairywren-crowned-2021-australian-bird-of-the-year-winner-in-hotly-contested-vote|access-date=2021-10-08|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002135839/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/08/superb-fairywren-crowned-2021-australian-bird-of-the-year-winner-in-hotly-contested-vote|url-status=live}}</ref> The voting rules changed in all three years of the Bird of the Year poll, which may have affected the results.<ref name="first dog voting rules 2021">{{cite web |author1=First Dog on the Moon |author1-link=Andrew Marlton |title=Bird of the Year 2021 voting changes are like the Hunger Games EXCEPT FOR BIRDS |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2021/sep/27/bird-of-the-year-2021-voting-changes-is-like-the-hunger-games-except-for-birds |website=The Guardian |access-date=16 June 2022 |date=27 September 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616001619/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2021/sep/27/bird-of-the-year-2021-voting-changes-is-like-the-hunger-games-except-for-birds |url-status=live }}</ref> The magpie also won a 2023 [[ABC Science]] poll for Australia's favourite animal sound.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-08-19/magpie-australias-favourite-animal-sound-winner-science-week/102735560|title=Magpies make Australia's favourite animal sound — but their calls are more than just a pretty tune|date=19 August 2023|first=Amy|last=Briggs|work=ABC News|access-date=19 August 2023|archive-date=19 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819054654/https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-08-19/magpie-australias-favourite-animal-sound-winner-science-week/102735560|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Australian magpies in New Zealand]]
*[[Birds of Australia]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
<!-- BiolJLinnSoc74:25. FieldianaZool31:31. -->
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds]] |volume=7 |title=Boatbill to Starlings |editor1-last=Higgins |editor1-first=Peter Jeffrey |editor2-last=Peter |editor2-first=John M. |editor3-last=Cowling |editor3-first=S. J. |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=978-0-19-553996-7 |chapter=''Gymnorhina tibicen'' Australian Magpie |chapter-url=http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/323_Australian%20Magpie.pdf |access-date=15 February 2017 |archive-date=16 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216194501/http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/323_Australian%20Magpie.pdf |url-status=live }} Linked pdf is 118 MB and contains Vol. 5 pages 51–55; Vol. 7A pages 396–399, 579–629; plate 18
* {{cite book |title= Magpie Alert: Learning to Live with a Wild Neighbour |last= Jones |first=Darryl |year= 2002 |publisher=University of New South Wales Press |location=Randwick, New South Wales |isbn=0-86840-668-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Gisela|title=Australian Magpie: Biology and Behaviour of an Unusual Songbird|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|location=Melbourne, Victoria|year=2004|isbn=0-643-09068-1|author-link1=Gisela Kaplan}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|Gymnorhina tibicen}}
{{Wikispecies|Gymnorhina tibicen}}
* {{cite web |title=Audio file of the magpie's warbling call  |publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/sounds/magpie.mp3 }}
* [http://www.freesound.org/browse/tags/gymnorhina-tibicen/ Audio – Various magpie recordings] at the Freesound Project.
* [https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=ausmag2 Australian magpie videos, photos and audio] from the Internet Bird Collection – via the [[Macaulay Library]]: {{cite web |title=The Internet Bird Collection joins the Macaulay Library |id=(Main search page) |url=https://www.macaulaylibrary.org/2020/02/28/the-internet-bird-collection-joins-the-macaulay-library/ |date=28 February 2020}}
* {{cite web |first= |last= |title=Magpies Behaving Badly |date=July 2002 |publisher=ABC Science Online |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/July2002/ }}
* {{cite web |title=''Gymnorhina tibicen'' |date= |publisher=Invasive Species Specialist Group |url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=1349}}
* {{cite web |title=''Gymnorhina tibicen'' (Latham, 1801) Australian Magpie |publisher=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/5291343e-fdeb-4a65-8ba5-928f5b96acf5}}

{{Corvides|M.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1140949}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Artamidae|Australian magpie]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1801|Australian magpie]]
[[Category:Birds of Australia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Latham (ornithologist)|Australian magpie]]