These birds are paired up all over the place in Edmonton. They're about the size, or a bit bigger than, a Blue Jay. Pretty long tails. I jammed a top-view from a separate photo in, so the scales are different. Any idea what the heck it is?
I remember when I was in Edmonton a couple of years ago and the first time I saw those birds. Had no idea what they were, but they were everywhere. My brother told me what they were, he said they're just like crows.....eating garbage, all over the place, just like crows around here.
Coolio, thanks! I've never seen one before. I think they're much prettier than crows.
Yup, behave much like crows, but wayyyy prettier. Smart birds, too. They'll figure out how to get into things they shouldn't, and are attracted to shiny stuff.
Albertans hate 'em, but I love watching them. And hey, they clean up all the baby gopher roadkills every spring.
Oh, and not to be confused with the Australian magpie;
Yup... loud & obnoxious. I lived in Edmonton for 18yrs, and we all hated them with a passion. If you like being woken up at 4am, they are akin to the urban rooster.
When we lived in Saskatoon, they used to gang up & attack our dog.
To think of them as pretty is just against my better nature. ;O)
