Winning Over Australia's Most Controversial Bird: A Guide

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With the arrival of spring in Australia, warmer temperatures and lengthier days are accompanied by zip ties.

This is particularly the case for cyclists who try to avoid the fury of the magpies during the height of swooping season. Every year, these black-and-white birds become a suburban concern, causing cyclists to be cautious, pedestrians to hold their umbrellas tightly, and warnings to pop up in local parks.

According to Professor Darryl Jones, an emeritus professor of ecology at Griffith University in Queensland, this phenomenon is more predictable and less menacing than it might appear.

“Magpies are influenced by the length of the day, which remains constant [annually],” Jones shared with SBS News.

“Their decisions on nesting and laying eggs are dependent on the duration of daylight.”

This means that the breeding season consistently follows the same pattern each year.

A map showing magpie swooping incidents across the country.

Australia’s Magpie Alert map has already recorded 2,753 swoops and 295 injuries this year. Source: Supplied / Magpie Alert!

The peak of swooping season falls this weekend and stretches into next week. That’s when the maximum number of magpies are nesting, with eggs or chicks to protect, Jones said.

“That’s why there’s so much swooping … it’s males protecting their nests.”

The main variable is not so much the birds themselves, but how many people are moving near their nests. More human traffic means more chance of swoops.

Australia’s Magpie Alert map, where the public reports encounters, has already recorded 2,753 swoops and 295 injuries this year.

A misunderstood neighbour

While a magpie attack can be dangerous, Jones says Australians often misjudge the bird’s behaviour. “Only about 10 per cent of magpies attack people … and it’s only happening when there are babies in their nest,” he said.

Moreover, only a minority of these birds attack without provocation. Approximately 100 meters away from their nests, magpies use a unique call to warn people to stay away. If unheeded, they might fly closely overhead. Only when these signals go unnoticed do they resort to swooping.

A magpie swooping on the left shoulder of a cyclist who is wearing a yellow jacket and red helmet. Rear view

Magpies might swoop cyclists who get too close to their nests. Source: AAP

“We’ve missed all the earlier cues they’ve been trying to give us,” Jones said. “But we don’t get it. We don’t understand it.”

Some magpies also specialise in who they swoop. “They’re either pedestrian swoopers, cyclist swoopers, or mail delivery driver swoopers,” he said. Helmets can make cyclists and posties more likely targets, obscuring the face and making it harder for magpies to judge them. Men are also more likely to be attacked.

“Just a small fraction attack indiscriminately, and they’re the ones who draw attention. But they’re seriously stressed,” Jones remarked.

More than a bird

For many First Nations cultures, magpies are far from villains.

In Noongar Dreamtime, Koolbardi (magpie) are celebrated as the bringer of the dawn, credited with creating the first sunrise through its warble. Parrwang the magpie lifted the heavy sky that once blanketed the earth, using its warble (or a stick in its beak) to push the sky higher until light poured in.

Each morning, the magpie’s song is a reminder — and a recreation — of the first dawn.

“It’s proven that the magpie has one of the most complicated types of song of any bird in the world,” Jones said. “There are fantastic First Nations stories about that.”

“The idea being that every morning, magpies re-imagine the first dawn from their viewpoint. That’s how strongly they identify with this bird.”

Jones has examined these stories in his role as an ecologist. “There are numerous stories about magpies, yet none are focused on swooping,” he noted. “This is mainly a phenomenon for white people in urban areas.”

A new friend?

Jones knows firsthand how deep the bond with magpies can go. When he was 16, he raised an orphaned magpie named Jimmy.

“I found him after a big, violent storm and knew he was going to die if I didn’t look after him,” he said. Jones fed him mince and raw egg until he recovered, and though he didn’t want Jimmy completely tamed, the bird lost all fear of humans.

Jones was friends with Jimmy for six months, until a local bully shot him. “It had a really formative effect on me. I got really depressed for a while … but that’s really where it began for me [as an ecologist].”

Magpies’ intelligence helps explain both swooping and friendship. They can recognise around 30 individual human faces and remember them for years.

Jones recalls an experiment where a student lingered near a nest and “thought bad thoughts”. After five exposures, the student became an enemy of the magpies and was swooped. Years later, he returned — and was attacked instantly.

“Magpies recognize all individuals within their habitat. They rarely leave their territory unless necessary. It’s possible for them to live for around 20 years,” Jones explains. “If magpies regularly see you and become familiar with you, I think they’d recognize and trust you.”

For some, feeding can tip the balance.

“One controversial but thoroughly examined technique is feeding,” Jones says. “If your local magpie is swooping you, you can stop them by suddenly changing your behaviour. Leave out some mince or cheese and they’ll quickly realise you’re being good to them. Within days, they’ll stop swooping and start treating you like a friend.”

To truly befriend a magpie, Jones says you need to be part of that inner circle of 30 significant humans in their lives. But he understands why people might be wary.

“There’s a Jekyll and Hyde thing with magpies,” Jones says. “They’re a wonderful bird that everybody seems to appreciate, but they can be terrifying if they’ve attacked you.”

What to do if you’re swooped by a magpie

Googly eyes on the back of your helmet won’t quite cut it.

For cyclists, the safest response is to stop and walk — even if that feels counterintuitive. Spiky zip-tie helmet attachments also work. “They look dangerous to magpies, so they’ll stay away,” Jones said.

Other precautions include wearing a hat, carrying an umbrella, or holding a stick above your head. “But don’t throw it. If you retaliate towards the magpie, it only makes them more serious,” he said.

Facing the bird and backing away can also help and knowing the nest location allows you to avoid it during the few weeks of peak season.

“But remember, it’s only a tiny fraction of magpies, only for about six weeks, and only near the nest tree.”