Good Morning Mr Magpie ....

.... how is your lady wife today.   Apparently people the world over say this on seeing a single magpie in the hope of warding off evil spirits.    A single one is supposed to bring bad luck (there were two in the garden this morning, phew!) and there is a rhyme that is often recited on seeing  magpies too:

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told.

A group of magpies is called a parliament.

They are a member of the Corvoid family, but they have longer tails than crows etc, this is thought to allow them to make swift turns in the air to evade larger predator birds and to make up for its average flight abilities.

They are amongst the most intelligent family of birds recognised by modern science and can recognise themselves in mirrors.

Apparently they are scared of shiny objects, so wont steal any jewellery left lying around!!