British wildlife recordings
Magpie
- Add a note
Log in to add a note at the bottom of this page.
- All notes
- My notes
- Hide notes
- Add to playlist
Log in to add this item to one of your personal lists.
- Add to favourites
Log in to add and display this item in your personal list of favourites on the right hand side of this page.
The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified.
Legal and ethical usage »
Type
sound
Duration
00:01:31
Shelf mark
W1CDR0001537 BD28
Subjects
Birds
Recording date
1975/05/31
Recording locations
Pinbury Park, Gloucestershire: OS Grid Reference(395500,204500)
Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John
Description
Call uttered by a magpie recorded on Pinbury Park, Gloucestershire. The magpie is an instantly recognisable bird and a regular sight in town and country. A member of the crow family, the magpie appears predominantly black and white with a long wedge-shaped iridescent tail. It has long been regarded as a bird of bad omen. Originally a bird of rural areas, the magpie has colonised towns and is even found close to city centres. It often perches on top of a bush or tree and on the ground walks or hops with a peculiar gait and its tail raised. The key to the magpie's success is its ability to eat anything from fruits and berries to carrion and beetles. The magpie will also raid other bird nests for chicks and kill small mammals. A magpie pair will start nest construction in mid-winter and build a domed structure, with a side entrance, out of twigs and mud high up in a tree. After fledging, the young will stay with their parents for at least six weeks. Magpies were heavily persecuted by gamekeepers, since they were wrongly assumed to be a pest and at the beginning of the 20th century the population was low. They have since recovered strongly and there are currently 650,000 pairs in Britain.
Metadata record:
Magpie
Please log in to update your playlists.
Can you tell us more about the context of the recording? Or can you share information on its content - timings of key sections or important details? Please add your notes. Uninformative entries may not be retained.
Please log in to leave notes.