In our culture, the magpie is one of the most important birds, it represents luck, good things, happy events, etc., in ancient poetry, drama, Chinese painting can be seen in their figure.
(Hi on the branches)
The magpies we often mention are ordinary magpies, also known as oriental magpies, which are widely distributed in China, North Korea, South Korea and other places, but Japan, which is close to China, rarely sees the figure of the oriental magpie, so what is going on?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > magpie</h1>
There are a total of 10 subspecies of the magpie family, the oriental magpie is only one of them, there are a total of 4 species of magpies in China, and the oriental magpie is the most common one.
In general, birds can use their ability to fly through ocean barriers and spread populations. But magpies seem to be an exception, they are resident birds, rarely migrate to other places, and will live in the same place for life. If you saw a pair of magpies last year, you may see a pair of magpies this year, unless they have an accident and the territory is occupied by other birds.
The reason why magpies do not like to migrate is because of their wide range of food sources, they not only like to feed on plants, but also actively catch pests, even small mice, chickens, and lambs will be attacked by them. In the spring and autumn when plants are more abundant, they will eat crops and fruits in the fields, and their IQs are too high to be prevented; in the winter and spring seasons when plants are scarce, they will rummaging for sleeping insects in the soil, or foraging for other animals, and sometimes stealing food prepared by humans for chickens.
In addition, they are not afraid of birds of prey, and often take the initiative to drive birds of prey that invade their territory, and sometimes besiege other birds, which is a very domineering bird. Because of this, they can survive the winter safely in the local area without migrating.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Why is it so difficult to see the Oriental magpie in Japan? </h1>
Because they do not have the habit of migration, so it is difficult for them to leap over thousands of mountains and rivers, the spread of the population mainly relies on the radial migration of land to spread to the surrounding areas, so it is difficult to see the figure of magpies on some islands, and the magpies in Taiwan are mainly introduced by mainland China in the late 18th century.
Although magpies have also been brought to Japan, their survival in Japan is not optimistic. The reason is that Japan is surrounded by the sea, the sea breeze is very large, and the breeding period is also during the Japanese marine monsoon period, resulting in the eggs in the bird's nest are often beaten by wind and rain, and the reproductive success rate is relatively low. This phenomenon is not only encountered in Japan, but also on other surrounding islands.
In addition, magpies are not good at long-distance flights, they cannot migrate naturally to Japan, and can only rely on human beings to carry, which means that their original number is not large, can not be large-scale reproduction,
In addition, in Japanese culture, magpies are not auspicious birds, they just treat them as ordinary birds, so that magpies are not well protected in the local area. Therefore, in Japan, the number of magpies is relatively small, and there is no distribution of magpies in many places.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > magpie nest</h1>
Magpies are very good at nesting, their nests look mediocre at first glance, but they actually take a lot of thought. In general, magpies will choose to nest on tall trees, which can prevent predators from approaching, or snakes as a threat to their cubs. The nest is composed of 4 layers, the first layer is the branches, and the interlacing of branches can make the structure of the nest more stable, and it is difficult to be blown down by the wind.
The second layer is made up of mud that maintains the temperature and humidity inside the nest. The third layer is made up of soft hay, and the last layer is made up of feathers. Some magpies also add a lid to the top of the nest to prevent wind and rain.
In general, magpies create multiple nests, some of which act as a attract to predators, and they do not inhabit here. And these excess nests they create are sometimes occupied by other birds who are not good at nesting, and thrive in this nest.
Because magpies are good at nesting, and they tend to abandon their old nests, these old nests are reused by other birds. Because of this, in places where there are more magpies, the number of local birds will increase, and magpies will attract other birds to live here.
In the past, magpies were abundant, and people in many places could often see magpies, but now studies have found that the number of magpies has declined a lot, and the number of their populations affects the use of pesticides in addition to habitat loss. When they eat poisoned insects, they may also be poisoned.
At present, some research institutions have noted the changes in the number of magpies and are studying corresponding countermeasures.