Magpies

Magpies are easy to identify in flight—the lovely fan like form of its long black tail and short black and white wings. They are just as easy to identify on the ground due to their size, large like their corvid cousins—the crows, their white chest and the white and blue markings on the wings. I was disappointed to read that their aesthetically pleasing coloring masks a darker side: their tendency to prey on the young of other birds. However, it seems that this fear may be overstated. Regardless of the validity of its chick eating reputation, they have been persecuted in rural parts and are a sign of bad luck or death in may areas of Great Britain. I like them—but I also own a black cat.