https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The social interactions Western Australian magpies experience in their first year of life affects their intelligence, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-smarter-magpies-linked-social-network.html Plants & Animals Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:40:10 EST news682335598 New research has shown for the first time that magpies can distinguish between the number of callers when played recordings of intruder magpies. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-magpies-intruder-quantities-food-reveals.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Sep 2025 06:39:40 EDT news677828365 Researchers have set out to find the cause of a paralysis syndrome affecting magpies across Perth and the Southwest. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-neurological-condition-impacting-australian-magpies.html Plants & Animals Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:03:04 EDT news663577381 If you live in Australia or New Zealand, the coming of spring is a mixed blessing. The days get warmer. Flowers bloom. Birds nest. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-magpies-magpie-larks-lapwings-swoop.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:10:09 EDT news644148605 Magpies that are aggressive towards other members of their group tend to be not so smart, according to researchers at The University of Western Australia. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-magpies-tend-intelligent.html Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Jun 2024 10:46:03 EDT news636803161 The combined impact of climate change and human-generated noise are proving double trouble for wild urban-dwelling bird species, changing their behavior in ways that could threaten their survival. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-magpies-siege-climate-noise.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:21:49 EDT news629997706 If you've ever had the pleasure of encountering Australia's iconic magpies, you know these birds are intelligent creatures. With their striking black and white plumage, loud warbling voices and complex social behaviors, magpies possess a level of avian brilliance that fascinates birders and scientists alike. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-key-magpie-intelligence-genetic.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:32:19 EDT news629551935 Human noise pollution is taking its toll on the iconic Australian magpie, affecting the songbirds' ability to forage for food, communicate and respond to alarm calls—but smart birds are less affected than others. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-impact-man-made-noise-magpie-behavior.html Plants & Animals Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:38:02 EDT news616851481 Research from Charles Darwin University (CDU) has identified opportunistic feeding behaviors of magpie geese across the Top End, with new solutions to improve management of the iconic bird as the Territory heads into peak mango season. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-latest-magpie-geese-resist-allure.html Plants & Animals Tue, 04 Oct 2022 10:57:03 EDT news584099821 Sleep deprived Australian magpies are tired and unmotivated, just like humans, according to new research from La Trobe University in Melbourne which has found that, after a poor night's sleep, the common black and white songbird shifts their normal singing from twilight to midday, have a reduced song bandwidth and struggle with cognitive tasks. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-australian-magpies.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 May 2022 10:08:47 EDT news570791324 When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we didn't expect to discover an entirely new social behavior rarely seen in birds. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-altruism-birds-magpies-outwitted-scientists.html Plants & Animals Tue, 22 Feb 2022 11:10:04 EST news564749959 Research from Charles Darwin University (CDU) has identified ways to improve management of magpie geese to better assist mango growers as the Northern Territory goes into mango season. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-ways-magpie-goose-mango-farms.html Ecology Wed, 11 Aug 2021 09:40:56 EDT news547893653 People aren't the only ones who show sympathy. Birds also seem to care about the fate of conspecifics. They notice how much food the others already have and then share theirs with individuals that were not given any. "They seem to take the each other's perspective into account in their decision, and thus seem to show sympathy," said Utrecht-based biologist Jorg Massen in an experiment with azure-winged magpies. He published his findings together with colleagues from the University of Vienna and the Swedish Lund University on September 30 in Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-birds-food-fortunate-conspecifics.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2020 09:38:08 EDT news521455083 Researchers are urging city-dwellers to switch off their garden lights at night-time after a study of magpies and pigeons revealed the harmful impact artificial light is having on the birds' sleep patterns. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-wide-pollution-magpies-pigeons-tossing.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Jul 2020 13:25:04 EDT news514729499 You're probably familiar with weather radar that shows bands of rain blowing in to ruin your plans for the day, or the ominous swirling pattern of a cyclone. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-weather-radar-tabs-elusive-magpie.html Earth Sciences Wed, 27 Nov 2019 08:47:19 EST news494066836 Every spring in Australia is heralded by reports of magpies swooping at people. While it is of little comfort to those at the receiving end of a surprise attack, such events are actually quite rare when one considers the number of magpies across Australia, and the fact that they love to share our urban habitat with us. https://phys.org/news/2019-09-cable-ties-wont-magpie.html Ecology Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:40:01 EDT news488099751 A new study has revealed a range of factors that cause a variation in predation by magpies on farmland songbirds. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-songbird-vulnerable-magpie-predation.html Ecology Wed, 29 May 2019 15:08:23 EDT news478361292 Weaving stories and intriguing names into children's education about the natural world could help to engage them with species' conservation messages, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-chatterpies-haggisters-ninuts-children.html Ecology Thu, 07 Mar 2019 19:00:02 EST news471196892 Magpies that live at airports are less likely to flee from aircraft noise than those that live elsewhere, according to our research. But it is unclear whether this makes them more likely to be involved in a collision. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-airport-dwelling-magpies-planes-good-bad.html Ecology Fri, 25 May 2018 08:20:24 EDT news446455214 Zookeepers in Prague have turned into puppeteers in an effort to save the critically endangered Javan green magpie. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-prague-zookeepers-puppet-endangered-magpie.html Ecology Tue, 17 Apr 2018 11:20:01 EDT news443181742 Growing up in a large social group makes Australian magpies more intelligent, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2018-02-large-group-boosts-magpie-intelligence.html Plants & Animals Wed, 07 Feb 2018 13:00:12 EST news437223655 Can one form a friendship with a magpie? –even when adult males are protecting their nests during the swooping season? The short answer is:" Yes, one can" - although science has just begun to provide feasible explanations for friendship in animals, let alone for cross-species friendships between humans and wild birds. https://phys.org/news/2017-10-magpies-friendships-peoplehere.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 Oct 2017 08:30:25 EDT news426238204 Scientists at the University of York, in collaboration with researchers at Western Sydney University, have shown that the Australian Magpie may 'dunk' its food in water before eating, a process that appears to be 'copied' by its offspring. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-australian-magpie-dunks-food.html Plants & Animals Thu, 07 Sep 2017 10:10:00 EDT news423997793 Black-billed magpies and American crows, both members of the clever corvid family of birds, have adapted comfortably to life in urban and suburban communities. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the two species often nest nearby each other in backyards and parks. Nesting near their much larger crow cousins affords magpies a margin of extra safety from a common enemy—ravens, an even larger corvid species. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-cheetos-magpies-crows.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Aug 2016 10:20:02 EDT news390128801 In literature, crows and ravens arebad omens and are associated with witches. Most people believe they steal, eat other birds' eggs and reduce the populations of other birds. But a new study, which has brought together over 326 interactions between corvids and their prey, demonstrates that their notoriety is not entirely merited. https://phys.org/news/2015-01-bad-reputation-crows-demystified.html Plants & Animals Fri, 23 Jan 2015 09:20:01 EST news341226467 They steal, raid nests, and keep the company of witches, but the unpopular crow may not be as big a menace as people think. A new Ibis study has found that crows—along with their avian cousins the magpie and the raven—have surprisingly little impact on the abundance of other bird species. https://phys.org/news/2014-12-crows-impact-population-prey.html Plants & Animals Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:47:12 EST news337884423 Female magpies have been shown to be more adventurous than their male siblings, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2014-09-mum-hormones-female-magpie-chicks.html Plants & Animals Tue, 02 Sep 2014 07:41:39 EDT news328862479 Magpies are not attracted to shiny objects and don't routinely steal small trinkets such as jewellery, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-magpie-folklore.html Plants & Animals Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:58:07 EDT news327387469 The unexpected capture of a rare ray found only in a small region off South Australia could help marine scientists validate the existence of the elusive magpie fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina melaleuca). https://phys.org/news/2013-04-ray-thrown-year-old-mystery.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:00:01 EDT news284887504