Magpie land deal

Unfortunately our camera is on the fritz, just when you need it most!

Just before dusk yesterday, Maggie and our neighbour's magpie Billy had a territorial negotiation. Maggie has, for some years since the old king Fatty died, regarded himself as owning Fatty's territory, and he regards Fatty's son Billy as occupying it under sufferance. Just a few days ago, Billy and his wife Polly and kids came to ask us for a bite to eat in the corner of our yard nearest to their territory, and shielded by the house from Maggie's central territory. But Maggie saw it, and flew in a swooping path at roof level, then, just before reaching them, he turned up sharply, his increasing height taking off his speed, until he was stationary, precisely above Billy and all. He fluttered there for a few seconds, before going back home.

I took that to be a message that he was still the boss magpie even if Billy was being allowed to stay.

Then yesterday, when Billy's gang did the same thing, this time Maggie and his adult daughters Wendy and Sophie lined up ten feet or so away on the ground, and started singing loudly. Billy's gang sang back, and the two groups sang at each other for ten minutes or so. Eventually Maggie's group sauntered off, searching for bugs under the ground (they use sound to locate them). It semed as if Maggie had at last agreed that Billy could have that tiny corner of our yard. He probably still thinks Billy is a mere tenant, though.

As to why Maggie thinks this, it goes back to when Fatty died. Injured somehow, he came into our yard, and into Maggie's part of our yard, to die, rather than going away alone somewhere deep in his own territory. In doing so, he passed his possessions on to Maggie, The day after Fatty died, Maggie, Vicky, and Maggie's four daughters all spread throughout Fatty's territory, calling far and wide to proclaim it as theirs. The day after that, we were amazed to find that the new tenants of Fatty's territory were Fatty's wife Molly, one of his daughters Kimbie, and one of Maggie's daughters, Rinky. A year later, Molly also died, and Billy pushed his way back into his father's old territory, but Maggie never regarded him as anything but a usurper, to be tolerated on sufferance.