Magpies are intelligent birds with a fascinating lifestyle. Until well into their third year they tend to live in ‘juvenile gangs’, in which the magpie undergoes training in raising its own brood. Magpies will eat whatever they can find: they mainly feed on larvae, beetles, worms and human refuse such as discarded chips and bread. Their diet is supplemented by other birds’ eggs and sometimes even chicks, particularly during the breeding season when the magpies are feeding their young. When you look more closely at what appears in the first instance to be a black and white bird, a colourful palette of metallic colours quickly reveals itself. Folklore mentions magpies as skilful thieves, known for ‘stealing’ shiny objects such as jewellery and silver teaspoons to decorate their nests. This behaviour is a result of the birds’ insatiable curiosity; anything that looks ‘different’ is inspected and sometimes concealed below a few leaves for later use.