Magpies in love....

[actionfinch]

I'm afraid i have no pictures....
I observed 2 magpies on a fence today ,at work, the were very close together and they looked like they were kissing i couldnt see anything being passed between them, when i cauht them in the act they were doing whatever for about 2 minutes... my mind thought they were huddling together but then see another 2 magpies on the floor underneath them...
Anyone, have any ideas on what they could be up to
( office xmas party was another thought i had...)
cheers

[Hedgehoggy]

Did you notice any mistletoe entwined in the branches above them?

Joking aside, you were almost right! I’d guess this was a courtship ritual where the male was feeding the female food to secure their bond in readiness for the breeding reason. I’ve recorded magpies commence nest building in my garden as early as end of January in previous years.

I don’t know about other species of birds, but I do know that robins will also have paired up before the end of December too.

[healfdan]

I think what you observed was mutual grooming, or possibly the passing of food between a male and female. Both these actions form part of the bonding ritual. Sometimes a twig is offered and this a prelude to nest building. My local mapies are already establishing a nest in their usual site, a tall conifer which overlooks every prime nesting site in the local vicinity .

[actionfinch]

thank you for the replies...it crossed my mind about courtship but thought it was to early for that to start.

[twitchyt]

l usually see magpie,s around 2 or 3 at a time, paired when nesting, but just occassionally, once or twice a year will see 10-20 sat in a row on field fence,
wondering if theyre having a conference of all the locals, seen migratory birds gather before leaving, not sure why residents do it.