Australian Magpies were recently voted Australia's most loved bird. Whilst they can become aggressive at nesting time - most of us have heard of them swooping pedestrians and cyclists who approach their nest - but we still love them because of their melifluous, piping song. Often two birds will carol together and sometimes the choir is even bigger. Not for nothing are they called "Organ-bird" or "Flute-bird"in some areas of Australia. The fact that they have adjusted so well to human urbanisation and that we see them often in our gardens, streets and parks. They are also partial to being hand-fed small pieces of meat - but take care not to make them dependent on this source of food.
This bird was seen on our daily dog walk in our local off-leash park and painted in watercolour and gouache.