MAGPIE

19th March 2024

Photo Credit: Leopardinatree (Getty Images Signature), CANVA

QUOTATION

It will have blood they say; blood will have blood.

Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak.

Augurs and understood relations have

By maggot pies, and choughs and rooks brought forth

The secret’st man of blood - What is the night?

MACBETH: Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4

MAGPIE (Pica pica)

Macbeth includes three birds in the Crow or CORVID family, Magpies, Choughs and Rooks as his messengers of secret thoughts. Magpies have a rich cultural heritage in many cultures. In Greek mythology the nine sisters, Pierides, were turned into Magpies after losing a contest with the Muses. William Turner writing in 1544 about birds, tells us that this bird is called ‘Py’ or ‘Piot’ in English and that is socially and capable of making a wide range of different calls.

Magpies are common and widespread throughout Britain except for parts of northern Scotland. They are social birds and live by scavanging and predating.

More Information

British Trust for Ornithology, BTO: Magpie

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

RSPB: Magpie

Shakespeare’s Birds, Missy Dunaway: Magpie

Turner, W. 1544 On Birds (translated by Evans, A.H. 1903, accessed via Archive.org)