Magpies

Here's a picture of one of the magpies that visit The Oval. Turns our they don't travel very far from their birthplaces, so chances are I've been seeing the same one or two these past couple of weeks. They in the crow family and I think of them as the kinder, gentler sibling to crows, probably because of the crow invasions I experienced every winter at Iowa State They get in trouble like Blue Jays, by eating other birds' eggs, but don't seem to be as aggressive. In sum, they're fantastic! (Sir Henry Magpie tromping around on the soggy ground)