I love Australian magpies, Cracticus tibicen. I love hearing their calls when I wake up in the morning, I love hearing their weight as they land on the roof and the noisy flapping of their wings when they fly close overhead, I love watching them pick bugs (and hopefully spiders) out of the grass, or walking casually by the side of the road when you ride by, sometimes scampering a little bit when you get close, and I love seeing them stalk fearlessly across the yard when I'm hanging the laundry. (And running: especially the running, but watching pretty much any kind of bird running is always enjoyable.)
But! That said, it's time to be careful, because we're getting into the danger zone season: spring. August (late) to October (early), when magpies get aggressive to humans during nesting season. I recently met someone who was once attacked by a magpie, so it does happen (though he prefaced the story by telling me how much he loves them too, so no hard feelings). Maybe it's time to paint some eyes on the back of my head.
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