Book description
Magpies are unmistakeable in their appearance, voice and extrovert,
arrogant manner. While their persecution at the hands of gamekeepers
over the last hundred years has made them wary and difficult to
approach, a number of recent field studies, both in Europe and North
America, have successfully revealed the intricacies of the magpie way of
life. Two species of magpie feature in this book, the Black-billed
Magpie, familiar to most Europeans, which occurs throughout much of the
northern hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to
California. Tim Birkhead has studied both species, and has produced a
fascinating account of their ecology and behaviour. Many of the results
from his ten-year study of magpies in northern England are published
here for the first time. Particularly revealing however is his
comparison of the two species and of their different races. Magpies
occur in a wide range of habitats, including English farmland, the
deserts of North America, the mountains of Saudi Arabia and the
windswept plateaus of Tibet. As this book explains, magpies are able to
exploit this diversity of habitats largely through their remarkably
flexible social behaviour. The Magpies covers all aspects of their
lives, including their marital relationships, food hoarding behaviour,
longevity and survival, nesting behaviour, breeding success and their
controversial relationship with man. The text is supported by numerous
photographs, diagrams and tables, and superb illustrations by David
Quinn. Illustrated by David Quinn
