SPORTING ANSWERS

Magpies thrive in Ireland

BIRDS

Q Is the magpie native to Ireland?

A The magpie is one of Ireland’s most widespread and successful birds, found throughout the island. The first record of a small flight of ‘under a dozen’ was in County Wexford in 1676 and they were recorded breeding there in 1684. Though little is known about how the birds arrived, it seems most likely that they were introduced.

Magpies are not strong fliers, so they avoid crossing wide stretches of water and a flight across the Irish Sea would almost certainly be beyond them. There was once a widespread belief in Ireland that the English, out of spite, imported the magpie into the country.

Curiously, despite this belief, there was a superstition that destruction of their