From a distance a bird with just black-and-white plumage but when seen close-up, its black plumage reveals a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers and a green gloss to the tail.

Magpie rhyme: ‘One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for secrets to never be told’.

They are birds of the  Corvidae family. Like other members of this family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures.