Magpie & Jay

20 Jan

The Magpie (Snag breac) and Jay (Scréachóg choille) are perhaps the least 'crow-like’ members of the corvid family. Their small size and colourful plumage differentiate these species from the familiar dark and plain features of other members of the ‘Corvidae’ family.

Magpie - Snag breac/Francagh

The scientific name of the Magpie, Pica pica, comes from a dramatic love story in Greek mythology. A witch named Circe, who attempted to seduce a Roman king called Picus. In a fit of rage after failing to seduce this great king, the witch turns him into a woodpecker (Latin: picus) and turns the Goddess he loved, Pomona, into a magpie (Latin: Pica).

How do I identify a magpie?

The magpie is an almost unmistakable crow species. With a remarkably long tail and striking black-and-white plumage, the magpie stands out from its single-toned relatives. However, if you catch a closer glimpse of these birds, you will be treated to the dazzling iridescence of its flight and tail feathers. These feathers are transformed under different light conditions, much like those of hummingbirds in the New World. Its cackling call often betrays its presence.

Magpie in flight — *A magpie mid-flight*

Where do they live? What do they eat?

Magpies are inquisitive and highly intelligent creatures, with a brain-to-body mass ratio equal to that of the great apes. This intelligence is manifested in their ability to use tools, play games, work in teams, and even mimic human speech. Often found in small cackling groups, they are able to produce an immense number of complex calls, which hints at the complex social behaviours they share with many other species in the crow family. Magpies are generalists - feeding on carrion, small mammals, seeds, invertebrates and sometimes the young of other birds.

Their nests are distinctive ball-like structures made of twigs often lined with sheep’s wool, with a single hole for an entrance. Like other crow species, they are highly opportunistic and can adapt to situations with impressive speed: some Magpies on Ynys Enlli (a small island off the Llŷn Peninsula, Wales) spend the winter months feeding around Grey seal (Rón glas) haul-outs. Here, they take parasites and insects off the seals in a similar fashion to the Oxpeckers that feed on Elephants and other megafauna in the African savanna!

Myths, legends & folklore surrounding the magpie

Magpies are deeply entwined in cultural folklore, superstition and mythology across the multitude of cultures covered by their extensive range. In the UK and Ireland, they have developed something of an unfortunate reputation as a mischievous species which steals jewellery, and represents an omen of death and bad luck. In Ireland, if you see a single magpie you should wave at the bird to avoid bad luck. In Wales, seeing a lone magpie at the beginning of a journey does not bode well for the rest of the passage. The well-known rhyme below highlights the supposed misfortune for those who see a single magpie, a common fear across the UK and Ireland.

The rhyme of the Magpie:

“One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret
never to be told”.

Magpies are a very common sight in Iveragh’s coastal regions and farmland. You will often see groups of them foraging or flitting between trees and shrubs if you are out along the roadways, tracks and trails on the peninsula. They are often seen with livestock in pastures, and occasionally perch upon the backs of Donkeys (Asal) and Sheep (Caora). As this would be a very inefficient mode of transport, it is likely that they are foraging in the animal’s coat.

Magpie on sheep — *A magpie perched upon the head of a sheep.*

Jay - Scréachóg choille

The Irish name for the jay contains three words - ‘scréach’, ‘óg’ and ‘choille’. These translate as ‘scream’, ‘young’ and ‘wood (forest)’. So, the jay’s Irish name translates to something along the lines of ‘ Little Forest Screamer’, an appropriate name for a bird commonly found in broad-leaved woodlands with such a distinct call. The Welsh language similarly draws attention to their vocal character: the name ‘Sgrêch y Coed’ translates to ‘Screecher of the Woods’.

How do I identify jays?

The jay is perhaps the most recognisable corvid on Iveragh. The jay is light brown with a white rump and a white neck. It has a black stripe stemming from its beak, and small dark stripes on its crown. Its black wings are then graced with a mixture of blue and white markings. Jays are somewhere between a Magpie (Snag breac) and Jackdaw (Cág), in terms of size.

*A Jay perched on a branch. Provided by knowledge gatherer, Ben Porter.*

Where do they live? What do they eat?

You will mostly find this species in woodlands, but they can also occur in coniferous forest and in mature gardens. Their diet consists of nuts, seeds, berries, and insects. They also occassionally eat eggs and nestlings of other birds. Interestingly, jays also cache nuts (of Oak [Dair], Hazel [Coll], and Beech [Feá]) during the Autumn. When winter arrives and food becomes scarce, or difficult to obtain, they uncover these buried nuts to maintain a consistent food supply – even in harsh winter conditions.

This caching behaviour of acorns (oak seeds), is alleged to have assisted the spread of oaks after the most recent ice age. The UK’s National Trust also implicates the jay’s tendency to cache acorns in the more recent spread of the invasive evergreen Holm oak (Dair thoilm) in Ventnor Downs on the Isle of Wight.

Jay — *A jay foraging in a short grassland*

Jays mate for life. A pair will build their nest in trees and shrubs using twigs, roots and hair for the upcoming breeding season, which begins in April. In the past, jays were persecuted by gamekeepers and farmers for taking young from other species’ nests, as well as to harvest their ornate wing feathers. This is far less prevalent today, so the loss of woodland habitat is believed to pose the greatest risk to the species in the future.

Your best chance of encountering a jay on the Iveragh peninsula might involve a woodland walk in Derrynane Woods. But certainly, if you are visiting other pockets of woodland, you should listen closely for its call to see where else the jay might be found in Iveragh.