Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae. The names 'jay' and 'magpie' are to a certain extent interchangeable, although this does not accurately reflect the evolutionary relationship between these birds. For example, the Eurasian Magpie seems more closely related to the Eurasian Jay than to the Oriental Blue and Green Magpies, whereas the Blue Jay is not closely related to either.^{[citation needed]} For other uses of the word magpie, see Magpie (disambiguation). ... Look up magpie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Download high resolution version (937x669, 205 KB)Magpie. ... Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... Genera many, see article text Corvidae is a family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers (Clayton and Emery 2005, [1]). Collectively its members are called corvids and there are over 120 species. ... A genus of three species of Magpie in the family Corvidae in both the New World and the old. ... Species Urocissa is a genus of birds in the huge Passerine order in the family Corvidae. ... Species Cissa chinensis Cissa hypoleuca Cissa thalassina Cissa is a genus of short-tailed magpies that reside in the forests of tropical and sub-tropical Asia. ... Binomial name Cyanopica cyanus (Pallas, 1776) Cyanopica (cyanus) cooki Bonaparte, 1850 The Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus, sometimes spelled Cyanopica cyana) is similar in overall shape to the European Magpie (Pica pica) but is a more slender bird with proportionately smaller legs and bill. ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Crow (disambiguation). ... The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... Genera many, see article text Corvidae is a family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers (Clayton and Emery 2005, [1]). Collectively its members are called corvids and there are over 120 species. ... Genera Garrulus Podoces Ptilostomus Perisoreus Aphelocoma Gymnorhinus Cyanocitta Calocitta Cyanocorax Cyanolyca The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) occurs over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. ... Species Urocissa is a genus of birds in the huge Passerine order in the family Corvidae. ... Species Cissa chinensis Cissa hypoleuca Cissa thalassina Cissa is a genus of short-tailed magpies that reside in the forests of tropical and sub-tropical Asia. ... For other uses, see Blue Jay (disambiguation). ...

In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ...

Magpies are known to steal other young birds, commonly young chickens, away from their nests.

The bird was referred to as a pie until the late 16th century when the feminine name Mag was added to the beginning.^[1]

Systematics and species

European Magpie Pica pica

According to Ericson et al. (2005), magpies do not form the monophyletic group they are traditionally believed to be; a long tail has certainly evolved (or shortened) independently in multiple lineages of corvid birds. Among the traditional magpies, there appear to be two evolutionary lineages: One consists of Holarctic species with black/white coloration and is probably closely related to crows and Eurasian jays. The other contains several species from South to East Asia with vivid coloration which is predominantly green or blue. The Azure-winged Magpie is a species with a most peculiar distribution and unclear relationships. It may be the single survivor of a long extinct group of corvid genera.^{[citation needed]} Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... In phylogenetics, a group is monophyletic (Greek: of one stem) if all organisms in that group are known to have developed from a common ancestral form, and all descendants of that form are included in the group. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... The Holarctic is a term used by zoologists to define the ecozone covering much of Eurasia and North America, which have often been connected by the Bering land bridge. ... For other uses, see Crow (disambiguation). ... Genera Garrulus Podoces Ptilostomus Perisoreus Aphelocoma Gymnorhinus Cyanocitta Calocitta Cyanocorax Cyanolyca The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ...

Other recent research (Lee et al., 2003) has cast doubt on the taxonomy of the Pica magpies, since it appears that P. hudsonia and P. nuttalli may not be different species, whereas the Korean race of P. pica is genetically very distinct from the other Eurasian (and even the North American) forms. Either the North American, Korean, and remaining Eurasian forms are accepted as 3 or 4 separate species, or there exists only a single species, Pica pica.

Holarctic (black-and-white) magpies

• Genus Pica
  • European 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/P. hudsonia)
  • Korean Magpie, Pica sericea (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Oriental (blue/green) magpies A genus of three species of Magpie in the family Corvidae in both the New World and the old. ... Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... Binomial name Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) The Black-billed Magpie is a large bird in the crow family that occurs in the western half of North America from Alaska to Oklahoma. ... Binomial name Pica nuttalli (Audubon, 1837) The Yellow-billed Magpie, Pica nuttalli, is a large bird in the crow family found only in California. ... Trinomial name Pica (pica) sericea Gould, 1845 The Korean Magpie Pica (pica) sericea is currently considered a subspecies of the European Magpie found in East Asia. ...

• Genus Urocissa
  • Formosan Blue Magpie Urocissa caerulea
  • Red-billed Blue Magpie, Urocissa erythrorhyncha
  • Gold-billed Magpie, Urocissa flavirostris
  • White-winged Magpie, Urocissa whiteheadi
  • Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Urocissa ornata
• Genus Cissa
  • Green Magpie, Cissa chinensis
  • Yellow-breasted Magpie, Cissa hypoleuca
  • Short-tailed Magpie, Cissa thalassina

Azure-winged Magpie Species Urocissa is a genus of birds in the huge Passerine order in the family Corvidae. ... Binomial name Urocissa caerulea Gould, 1863 The Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), also called Taiwan Magpie, is a member of the Crow family. ... Binomial name Urocissa erythrorhyncha (Boddaert, 1783) The Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha) is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae. ... Species Urocissa is a genus of birds in the huge Passerine order in the family Corvidae. ... Species Urocissa is a genus of birds in the huge Passerine order in the family Corvidae. ... Binomial name Urocissa ornata (Wagler, 1829) The Sri Lanka Blue Magpie or Ceylon Magpie (Urocissa ornata) is a beautiful member of the Crow family living in the hill forests of Sri Lanka, where it is endemic. ... Species Cissa chinensis Cissa hypoleuca Cissa thalassina Cissa is a genus of short-tailed magpies that reside in the forests of tropical and sub-tropical Asia. ... Binomial name Cissa chinensis (Boddaert, 1783) The Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis) is a member of the Crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian Jay or slightly smaller. ... Genus Cissa Boie, 1826 Cissa is a genus of short-tailed magpies that reside in the forests of tropical and sub-tropical Asia. ... Genus Cissa Boie, 1826 Cissa is a genus of short-tailed magpies that reside in the forests of tropical and sub-tropical Asia. ...

• Genus Cyanopica
  • Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyana

Binomial name Cyanopica cyanus (Pallas, 1776) Cyanopica (cyanus) cooki Bonaparte, 1850 The Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus, sometimes spelled Cyanopica cyana) is similar in overall shape to the European Magpie (Pica pica) but is a more slender bird with proportionately smaller legs and bill. ... Species Cyanopica cyana Pallas, 1776 Cyanopica (cyana) cooki Bonaparte, 1850 The Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyana) is a bird in the crow family. ...

Other magpies

The Black Magpie, Platysmurus leucopterus, despite its name, is neither a magpie nor, as was long believed, a jay, but a treepie. Treepies are a distinct group of corvids externally similar to magpies. Binomial name (Temminck, 1824) The Black Magpie (Platysmurus leucopterus) is a species of bird in the Corvidae family. ... Genera Garrulus Podoces Ptilostomus Perisoreus Aphelocoma Gymnorhinus Cyanocitta Calocitta Cyanocorax Cyanolyca The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. ... Genera Dendrocitta Crypsirina Temnurus The treepies comprise three closely related genera (Dendrocitta, Crypsirina, Temnurus) of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae. ...

The Australian Magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, is conspicuously piebald, with black and white plumage reminiscent of a European Magpie, but it is not a corvid. For other uses of the word magpie, see Magpie (disambiguation). ...

Diet

Magpies eat mostly worms, slugs and small insects. They feed their young the same. Magpies can be seen scratching into the ground, looking for food, such as spiders and worms. Magpies hunt day and night. Magpies aren't exclusively carnivores or herbivores, but they are more carnivores than herbivores. Magpies learn to find food for themselves when they are very young.

Magpie in culture

Most English language cultural references to magpies are those for the European Magpie, since the word "magpie" usually refers to that species. Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ...

References

• Anonymous (2006): The Word Origin Calendar: Sat./Sun. March, 11-12, 2006. Accord Publishing.
• Ericson, Per G. P.; Jansén, Anna-Lee; Johansson, Ulf S. & Ekman, Jan (2005): Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data. Journal of Avian Biology 36: 222-234. PDF fulltext
• Lee, Sang-im; Parr, Cynthia S.; Hwang, Youna; Mindell, David P. & Choe, Jae C. (2003): Phylogeny of magpies (genus Pica) inferred from mtDNA data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29: 250-257. PDF fulltext
• Tickner, Lisa. "One for sorrow, two for mirth", Oxford Art Journal, 1980-04-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-02. 

Funk and Wagnalls is a publisher based in New York City. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Magpie videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Magpie webcam Live webcam stream Magpies & Blackbirds nest