The secret lives of Australian Magpies

ITS ALL ABOUT THE MALE MAGPIE. Sounds like some human males I know.

You study one male Magpie for 18 years and you think you know everything about the bird. Wrong. I've done this with the resident male magpie and I'm still learning and he's about 20-22 human years old. I thought he was monogomous to his mate, as I'd only ever seen him with one female at a time. 

Over the years he has "adopted" a juvenile here and there into his family, and there have been territorial disputes with other families but it never sank in until yesterday of what was actually happening.

What is happening is this.....an "adoption" of a juvenile magpie that's the same age as this year's offspring means he has more than one mate despite never seeing this "other mate" in his main territory. The new offspring is also his kid and quite possibly a son but from a different mother. The family/territorial disputes is simply his other mate's family coming into the adult male's main territory and his first mate and family don't like it one bit. There's also a lot of fighting going on with both lots of offspring. 

The "adoption of the other offspring" is possibly the adult male's way of merging two families together - a reason to bond the two families into one family? I'm no expert but that's what it looks like to me. 

I've read, in the past, that adult male magpies will steal breeding females from another's territory - hence the invading territory disputes. In my opinion that doesn't seem to be the case at all, although it may be the case in some instances. Once, just once, the resident male magpie did steal a breeding female from a neighbouring family and all hell broke loose. That was only because his first mate suddenly took off like a maniac and never came back. He had to find himself a new mate to breed with.

Males stealing females to breed with doesn't always happen. It's rare but it will happen due to circumstances of an adult breeding male losing a mate. 

So, family disputes, generally, depend upon circumstances at the time, and always seem to happen after breeding has occurred.

Now, adult males generally have a territory in which they live their lives, forage for food in and breed in. They don't go outside that territory even if no-one else occupies that space. The resident male, a few years back, decided to extend his territory further south. There was no competition for territory by another male where he wanted to extend his territory. He now has his main territory (or homeland) and a secondary territory. His homeland and second territory are both breedable areas, apparently.

Now this is where is gets confusing. Prior to a second mate coming into an adult male's main territory, there is subtle divisions of the family. If you're observant its very noticeable actually. The juveniles in his main territory begin to bond together and hang out together all the time. They're always together. They stay faithful to their own biological/adoptive mother and always come back to where she is no matter what. If their father is feeding in a second territory the juveniles don't join him unless allowed to by the father. The father starts roaming his second territory and when back in his main territory appears grumpy and aggressive toward his offspring at first then calms down.

Its when the first (or prime) female is out of the main territory that you know something is just not right here. But in this case, just a few days ago, it was not the prime female who was out of the main territory as she recently was attacked by something and is incapable of flying. She went into hiding under a pine tree for almost an entire day. It was actually the adult male who was roaming his second territory. It continues......

Now to their feeding grounds. Adult males do seem to have special feeding grounds where food is freely found and in abundance. In the case of the resident male magpie its at the flats I live in. The special feeding ground is people food where bugs are also found (in this magpie's case) and its a special food territory all by itself.

At first, his new prime female, wasn't allowed to eat from this place when they first bonded and became mates prior to their first breeding together. Then she was allowed to enter it after about a week or two. She's always allowed in this food territory except when his second mate is around and in his main territory. But the kids to his main female are allowed into this food territory with his second female and her offspring here. It seems kids are an exception to the rule no matter their age.

Now, my brother asked me how do I know it's a female and not another adult male he's with? That's a very good question actually. So, I'll repeat what I said to my brother.......The resident adult male and the kids go off and argue with the invading magpies in the main territory of the resident adult male magpie. They fight, yell and fight some more. A lot of bonding singing is done amongst the magpies when the heat of the fight has died down. What I do know about breeding adult males is they are aggressive and domineering toward their offspring during breeding season. Its not breeding season now. That is gone and happened in August/September here. They get aggressive toward their offspring to prime them up to get them to leave when they are 2 years old as well as to just keep them under control and remind them that dad is the boss and what he says goes. Adult males don't boss around their mates nor are aggressive toward them. I've never seen the resident male be aggressive toward any of his mates. I've only ever seen him be aggressive toward his offspring and Magpie Larks and sometimes Crested Pigeons. I've never seen him aggressive toward people or other animals. So, the other adult magpie he was with was either another adult female or one of his sons whose all grown up. But, as adult magpie males are all about themselves and not about the females, then "his special feeding place" he would only share the privilege of entering of with another female. For any adult magpie to enter a special feeding place - its a "enter at your own risk" scenario. Its prime real estate for the adult male in his main territory. Only magpie children are allowed to enter but adult females are not unless "he says so".

To add to this, going into town a few years back, I was swooped by a breeding adult male Magpie. This adult male magpie was in the next territory over from my resident male magpie. My resident male magpie, one day, saw me getting swooped by that other magpie, from a distance. The very next day, going into town along the exact same road, I thought to myself the magpie is squarking madly again as I passed by it's nesting tree on the opposite side of the road. Nothing. It didn't swoop me. It stopped swooping me and has never swooped me since. I did see both adult male magpies in a neutral zone hanging about together which only lasted for about 4-5 days. Did my resident adult male tell the other adult male to stop swooping me? Who knows really. I'm thinking he probably did and I suspect the other adult male magpie was possibly a son to my resident male. Who else could boss another male magpie around and get away with it except a parent?

It sucks to be an breeding adult female magpie, in my opinion, but that's the law of the land of the Australian male Magpies. Adult male magpies rule everything!