Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

Adult male Australian Magpie - local bird

Australian Magpies are common throughout Tenterfield and are reknown for swooping anything that comes near the nest in the breeding season. Each pair of Australian Magpie mates for life, and generally have 1-2 offspring per year. If an adult breeding Magpie dies or disappears from the area, the remaining Magpie will generally find another mate within 1-2 years, usually around when the breeding season begins. They mate in late Winter to early spring, depending upon whether winter has been warm enough. Their mating season generally begins from September to October.


Here is a video taken on 21 June 2012 of a local juvenile trying to bond with me. It wanted food but I never fed it. This juvenile was born last Spring (2011) and by 2013 it will be gone.

All juvenile Magpies are allowed to stay within the family unit for 2 years then they are chased off by the parents, mostly by the father.

Many interesting things have been observed within the Australian Magpie species here in Tenterfield. Some family units have a hard time feeding, and as a result can be spotted feeding well after dark. Other interesting things include mimicking sounds of various animals, including horses, ducks, other birds and humans. Only the females seem to do this but I'm not sure on how widespread this phenomenon is across Tenterfield.