This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/world/what-in-the-world/australia-magpie-season.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Fear Descends Over Australia as Magpie Swooping Season Begins | Fear Descends Over Australia as Magpie Swooping Season Begins |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| There are the snakes, the sharks and the spiders, but no one told you about the magpies, did they? | There are the snakes, the sharks and the spiders, but no one told you about the magpies, did they? |
| In September and October, Australians band together as if motivated by a national war effort. It’s swooping season for the native magpie. This black-and-white bird with beady red-brown eyes can become aggressive, dive bombing and pecking anything, especially humans, that it deems a threat to its chicks. | In September and October, Australians band together as if motivated by a national war effort. It’s swooping season for the native magpie. This black-and-white bird with beady red-brown eyes can become aggressive, dive bombing and pecking anything, especially humans, that it deems a threat to its chicks. |
| During the spring swooping season, victims of attacks update online maps with nest locations in order to warn others of the danger from above. Principals put their bodies on the line to protect students. Talk radio shows are flooded with dramatic swoop stories. | During the spring swooping season, victims of attacks update online maps with nest locations in order to warn others of the danger from above. Principals put their bodies on the line to protect students. Talk radio shows are flooded with dramatic swoop stories. |
| “It is the biggest urban wildlife problem there is in Australia just because of the scale and sheer number of animals involved,” said Professor Darryl Jones, an urban ecologist with Griffith University in Brisbane. He has studied the troubled relationship between magpies and humans for 20 years. | “It is the biggest urban wildlife problem there is in Australia just because of the scale and sheer number of animals involved,” said Professor Darryl Jones, an urban ecologist with Griffith University in Brisbane. He has studied the troubled relationship between magpies and humans for 20 years. |
| Australians have developed some odd defense methods over the years. When heading into a swoop zone, generations of schoolchildren (including this reporter) wore empty, plastic ice cream buckets as hats with crude eyes drawn on. The theory: a magpie won’t attack if it thinks it is being watched, and if it does, you have the ice cream bucket to protect you. | |
| Other methods include waving a stick in the air or opening an umbrella. During the season it is common for cyclists, adults and children alike, to ride around with a forest of zip ties protruding from their helmets. | Other methods include waving a stick in the air or opening an umbrella. During the season it is common for cyclists, adults and children alike, to ride around with a forest of zip ties protruding from their helmets. |
| “Birds do swoop, but they don’t come anywhere near your helmet,” said Professor Jones, who endorses the zip-tie method. | “Birds do swoop, but they don’t come anywhere near your helmet,” said Professor Jones, who endorses the zip-tie method. |
| An Australian’s fear of magpies has merit. Each year a handful of attacks cause eye injuries and in some cases permanent sight loss. Cyclists fall off their bikes, breaking bones and dislocating joints. | An Australian’s fear of magpies has merit. Each year a handful of attacks cause eye injuries and in some cases permanent sight loss. Cyclists fall off their bikes, breaking bones and dislocating joints. |
| Professor Jones and his students recently discovered a magpie’s ability to recognize and remember human faces, occasionally singling out individuals for escalated attacks season after season. Mail carriers who buzz around on small motorbikes are hardest hit, victims of more than 200 a day, Professor Jones said. | Professor Jones and his students recently discovered a magpie’s ability to recognize and remember human faces, occasionally singling out individuals for escalated attacks season after season. Mail carriers who buzz around on small motorbikes are hardest hit, victims of more than 200 a day, Professor Jones said. |