10/29/2020

Oldies but Goodies - The Magpie

This week the Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge was to show something that people think a magpie would steal.
Not only did we get some lovely entries, but also a literal magpie piece and two stories.

"
I remember one time when I was working on a jewelry project outside. I went inside the house to get something to eat and when I went back outside there was a magpie perched on the table getting ready to steal my pendant!"

"
I once was standing on a pavement near my home and right in front of me saw a magpie walking shamelessly with a round brass ring in its beak!"

Are magpies really shameless thieves then? British scienctists say they aren't (if you are interested in at least the abstract to the article published in 2015 in the journal Animal Cognition, you can find it here): "We suggest that humans notice when magpies occasionally pick up shiny objects because they believe the birds find them attractive, while it goes unnoticed when magpies interact with less eye-catching items. The folklore may therefore result from observation bias and cultural inflation of orally transmitted episodic events." I guess we owe magpies an apology.

To be honest, I think a magpie may have had problems to pick up some of the entered pieces, anyway, but that sure doesn't take away from their beauty!

1 and 2 Jewelry Art by Dawn
3 The Crafty Chimp
4 My Bijou Life
5 RioRita
6 Cat's Wire

7 comments:

  1. If I were a magpie, I’d steal these!

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    1. I have to admit, my favorite is the magpie pendant :-D

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    2. I know, Dawn! :-P

      Seriously, though, your painted pendants are just wonderful.
      One day after posting this a magpie was sitting in the tree behind the house. I like to think it was a sign of approval!

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  2. I am sure a magpie would also have second thoughts about which one to steal because they are all gorgeous!

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  3. I like to think that magpies pick up shiny things because they recognize beauty when they see it. I have no doubt that a magpie would happily grab all of these beautiful things and fly, fly away with its treasure!

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    Replies
    1. It might be a bit slow carrying some of these ... :-D

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