Posted by Mark Kern on July 11, 2001 at 14:41:03:
In Reply to: MAGPIE MADNESS posted by giveaway boy on June 11, 2000 at 11:13:12:
Almost every day I bicycle from north Boulder to the light at Lyons on the bike lane
along US 36. With some freqency I see magpies, mostly in North Boulder, but
I've seen a couple of them near Lyons, one actually seemed to fly away
then back to me as I slowly bicycled uphill (moving south) near the Lyons light . . . very close
to the Hygeine turnoff. I recall seeing a dead one along the road near Lyons also.
This morning just before I turned in on Yarmouth to follow 19th Street
into town, I saw a magpie fly away from another magpie that was apparently
just hit by a car. The downed bird was on the road, but along its right.
I wonder the interest of the flying bird towards the down one. My first thought
was that it'd eat it, then I wondered if it was its mate and it was a sorrowful momment
for the flying bird. I still wonder, and would appreciate a more expert opinion of what
the flying magpie was doing flying to or near to the other bird that was apparently killed
by a passing car.