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Magpies are smart. Indeed, the Eurasian\u00a0Magpie, a species virtually indistinguishable from our own Black-billed Magpie, is the only bird to have ever passed the mirror test, a self-awareness test whereby it is seen whether an animal is able to recognize its mirror image as being a representation of itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While rare in the West Kootenay, magpies are common\u00a0in the Okanagan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In what might be considered a touristic promoter’s dream, one might take this\u00a0to\u00a0imply that really smart birds prefer the area around Okanagan Lake to that around Kootenay Lake. Alas, the magpie has\u00a0a bias towards open habitats with occasional trees rather than forests. Humans have more cosmopolitan tastes and some prefer forested landscapes.<\/p>\n
So, Kootenay Lake gets the odd magpie, but only in those few regions\u00a0where open farmlands prevail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took this picture a while ago and reserved it until I needed to illustrate the forested nature of the lakeshore. It is now appropriate: most of Kootenay Lake is just not hospitable to magpies.
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A few spots (at each end of the Main Lake and the region around Harrop and Procter) have the adequately open country that magpies favour. This magpie was observed\u00a0in Harrop. I had thought of the magpie as essentially black and white until I took this picture and saw the colour in its plumage.
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Magpies are smart. Indeed, the Eurasian\u00a0Magpie, a species virtually indistinguishable from our own Black-billed Magpie, is the only bird to have ever passed the mirror test, a self-awareness test whereby it is seen whether an animal is able to … Continue reading