The talking magpie ( a long-tailed crow with boldly marked plumage and a raucous voice ) is one of the largest and best-known large corvid species in Europe and much of Asia, particularly in Mongolia.
The magpies can easily be identified thanks to their morphology and their black and white plumage. It has a black plumage on the top of the body, head and chest and white on the belly, flanks and base of the wings. The black plumage shows an iridescence of feathers. The beak is black as are the legs.
The fairly large bird is 44 to 56 cm long and has a long tail of 20 to 30 cm. The wingspan varies from 52 to 60 cm and the weight from 190 to 250 g. The male magpies are larger than the female.
Wing coloration gives an indication of the age of the individual. Its lifespan is 15 years, which is an average age for a bird but its maximum lifespan is 21 years.
It mainly eats on the ground, and animal prey in the summer. Also insects, fruits, various seeds, chicks of other birds, human waste etc. You may hear them singing on the top of the Ger stealing some drying curds as well.
The magpie can be found everywhere in Mongolia, around nomad people, on the back of the cows, on the roof of the shelters. Mongolians love them. Why? So there are many legends, mythologies and proverbs. For example: Mongolians say “if the magpie in Mongolia chatters in the morning, you hear the good news. If the magpie chatters at noon, the guests arrive (nomads know that you are coming to their home through the message of the talking magpie), if at night trouble comes. » Make sure you hear magpies singing in the morning before you leave the family!
Nature is also characterized by the movement of the chattering magpie in relation to the climate. For example, “In the summer, if the magpie chatters several times, there is a lot of precipitation”- That is how nomads know that year is being good to their herding animals and surroundings. In other words, if magpies, “Sitting on the ice, it will be a warm winter” and “sitting on a tree early in the morning, it will rain a lot”, etc.
Now you know how Mongols listens what magpies telling to them. If you travel to Mongolia, you will be able to experience this incredible bird talking moments. Leave us a note if you have ever heard them below!
