Eurasian Magpie: A True Bird Brain
There is a fair amount of superstition surrounding the Eurasian magpie (also called the common magpie), a bird known for its jet black and white feathers and purple-, green-, and blue-streaked wings. An old British rhyme predicts a personās fate on the basis of the number of magpies theyāve seen: āOne for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a funeral, and four for birth.ā Some say that if you fail to salute a magpie youāve walked past, bad luck waits patiently behind the next corner. And bewareāmany believe that if a solitary magpie, whose species mates for life, is perched on a window of your home, this signals loneliness and certain death. The poor birdās name is loaded with mythical connotation, but the magpieās true marvel comes from its natural ability.
The common magpie is one of the most intelligent birdsāand one of the most intelligent animals to exist. Their brain-to-body-mass ratio is outmatched only by that of humans and equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes. Magpies have shown the ability to make and use tools, imitate human speech, grieve, play games, and work in teams. When one of their own kind dies, a grouping will form around the body for a āfuneralā of squawks and cries. To portion food to their young, magpies will use self-made utensils to cut meals into proper sizes.
Magpies are also capable of passing a cognitive experiment called the āmirror test,ā which proves an organismās ability to recognize itself in a reflection. To perform this test, a colored dot is placed on animals, or humans, in a place that they will be able to see only by looking into a mirror. Subjects pass if they can look at their reflection and recognize that the mark is on themselves and not another, often by attempting to reach and remove it. Passing the mirror test is a feat of intelligence that only four other animal species can accomplish.