Australian Magpie 2017-12-16 (5D_32A5599)

            The Australian Magpie was recently named Australia’s Bird of the Year for 2017, after collecting 13.3% of the nearly 150,000 votes cast in the poll run by Birdlife Australia and The Guardian. They are an amazing bird and one of my favourites too. They are unlike the Magpies of Europe who are more closely related to Crows. The Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) are the only bird in the genus Gymnorhina, but are closely related to Butcherbirds (genus Cracticus).

They are an amazingly intelligent bird with one of the most beautiful, and most complex calls. The sound of Magpies caroling to each other is an iconically Australian sound and one of my favourite things. They are also known to mimic the calls of other birds.

They are known to attack or “swoop” humans during their nesting season and can do some injury. They are also thought to be better at recognising specific humans than dogs are, and this would certainly explain why some people get “swooped” and others don’t. That said I know some lovely people who have been swooped this year, so they are not always good judges of character :-)

So, in three images taken on Saturday, I present to you the Australian Bird of the Year for 2017, the Australian Magpie.

Taken on: December 16, 2017

Tags:

Australian Magpie

Gymnorhina tibicen

Melbourne

Australia

Australian Birds

Canon EOS 5D MkIII

Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 « less

Sets appears in: • 2017 • Birds - Magpies

Groups appears in: • Bird Fanatics! (No Limits) • Australian Birds more » • Beautiful Birds • Birds Photos - Check out the new discussions! • Avian Photography • The Birds Of Flickr • Birds🐔Nature & Cameras📷 « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, 600mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens:	150.0-600.0 mm f/5.0-6.3
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length:	600mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	DxO Correction Engine
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