Where do they live?

Australian Magpies are common and found across most of Australia. They are highly territorial, which means they tend to stay in one area for their whole lives in family groups adults.

They are most common in areas where there are a combination of trees and open areas such as grasslands or parks and playing fields and are not usually found in dense forests and arid deserts.

What do they eat?

Australian Magpies spend much of their time foraging on the ground, carefully hunting for insects and small animals living in the soil and leaf litter, such as beetles, spiders, worms, small lizards, and frogs. This makes them excellent natural pest controllers, quietly helping to keep gardens, parks, and bushland healthy and balanced. 

What do they look like?

Australian Magpies are black-and-white birds that can sometimes be confused with similar species, such as Pied Currawongs, Magpie Larks, and Pied Butcherbirds. In Sydney, you can distinguish magpies by a few key features: a white patch on the nape (back) of the neck, a black belly, and white markings at the base of the beak. In adult females and juvenile birds, these white areas are more greyish-white. In other parts of Australia, magpies may instead have an entirely white back and rump, rather than just distinct patches.

What to do in Magpie 'Swooping Season'

For most of the year, magpies are not aggressive. However, during the breeding season (typically August to October), they can become very protective of their nests and may defend their territory from other birds and people.

When someone passes through their territory, magpies may see them as intruders and give warning displays, such as swooping low and fast or making distinctive bill‑clacking sounds. In most cases, this behaviour is simply a warning, but in rare instances the bird may make contact with a person’s head using its beak or claws.

The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) provides helpful advice on how to stay safe during magpie season on their website. If you feel a magpie is a serious threat to the community, it should be reported to Council’s Customer Service team on 1300 434 434, or the nearest NPWS office. Its important to remember that magpies are a protected species in New South Wales, and it is against the law to kill the birds, collect their eggs or harm their young.

How can you support Australian Magpies?

• Don’t feed wild birds: Giving food to magpies and other visitors might feel kind, but it can harm them. Human food lacks the nutrients they need, can make them very sick, and encourages dependence on people instead of natural foraging. 
• Create a backyard sanctuary: Turn your garden into a safe refuge for wildlife planting native shrubs and ground covers that provide food and shelter, and help protect animals by keeping pets indoors. Encourage natural foraging by avoiding chemical pesticides and instead using mulch, leaf litter, and rocks to attract insects, spiders, and small lizards that form a magpie’s natural diet. For more practical tips, see Backyard Habitat.
• Avoid accidentally kidnapping baby birds: Baby magpies leave the nest before they can properly fly and feed themselves. During this time, their parent is often feeding and keeping a close eye on them whilst they learn. If you see a baby magpie sitting on the ground, keep pets and people away and watch to see if parents are in attendance. If you believe the chick is in immediate danger or has been abandoned, you can contact a local wildlife rescue group. On the Northern Beaches, that would be WIRES (1300 094 737) or Sydney Wildlife (9413 4300). 
• Get involved in citizen science: Take part in surveys like the Aussie Bird Count and use apps like iNaturalist to help researchers track where birds are occurring and how populations are changing over time.

Fun facts

• The magpie can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as other animal calls, such as those of dogs and horses. Magpies have also been noted to mimic human speech, when living in close proximity to humans.
• Even though they have similar names, they are not closely related to the European magpie.
• Magpies will live in groups of up to 10 birds that all work together to defend their territory.