The symbolic meaning of magpie

First, it symbolizes sages.

Everyone knows that magpies have a nice voice. Whether singing or barking, no matter where and where, the rhythm and tone of its sound are the same. In the eyes of Confucianism, those sages and gentlemen, like magpies, should have the qualities of constancy, stability, clarity, perseverance and consistency. Therefore, Confucianism often requires people to learn from magpies and regard magpies as some kind of template for sages.

Second, happy to go home.

In fact, the meaning of magpie is so beautiful, which depends entirely on the sound of magpie. What's the sound of magpies? Twitter, Twitter? , a bit like? Happy home, happy home? Therefore, we have always said that magpie is a symbol of happy events, which means that happy events are coming and happy events are coming home.

Third, bridges meet.

I don't know if you have heard of it. Meet at magpie bridge? What about this legend? Because of this, the Milky Way is also called? Que River? . Valentine's Day in China is on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is in Chinese Valentine's Day. On this day, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl get together, and magpies dedicate their feathers and bodies to build a bridge. So, after this day, many magpies are naked. Of course, this is just a legend, just a beautiful moral of magpies.

Fourth, it symbolizes good luck.

There have been many portraits of magpies since ancient times, because magpies symbolize good luck. Two magpies call face to face? Did you have fun meeting? ; Add a copper coin between two magpies? Happy at hand? ; What if a badger and a magpie look at each other above and below the tree? Are you happy? . As for the most popular, it is the magpie standing at the top of the plum tree, also known as? Beaming? .

The living habits of magpies

Magpies often move in small groups of 3-5 in the breeding season, and often integrate dozens of large groups in autumn and winter. During the day, I often go to open areas such as farmland for food, and fly to nearby trees to rest at night. Sometimes I see crows and western Western jackdaw mixed activities. Be alert, there is always a bird to guard when foraging. Even if they feed in pairs, they usually take turns waiting for food. The male bird is looking for food on the ground, the female bird is standing on the highland and looking for food. If danger is found, the bird watcher will scream and fly away with the foraging birds. Strong and lasting flight ability. When flying, the whole body and tail are in a straight line, the tail is slightly opened and the wings are slowly stirred. Male and female birds often keep a certain distance and move forward by leaps and bounds when they move on the ground. Singing monotonous, loud, like? What-what-what? Sound, often singing while flying. When in a group, the calls are very noisy.

The diet is diverse, and the food composition changes with the season and environment. Animals such as insects are the main food in summer, and fruits and seeds of plants are the main food in other seasons. Common food types are insects and larvae, such as grasshoppers, grasshoppers, chafers, weevils, beetles, grasshoppers, cutworms, caterpillars, bedbugs, ants, flies and snakes. LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, HYMENOPTERA, etc. They also eat chickens and eggs. Plant foods are mainly fruits and seeds of trees and shrubs, including corn, sorghum, soybeans, peas and wheat.

Breeding mode of magpie

Breeding started earlier. In temperate regions, nesting and breeding usually begin in early March, and in northeast China, breeding begins in the middle and late March and lasts until May. Usually nest on tall trees such as pine, poplar, oak, elm, willow and walnut, sometimes nest on big trees near villages and beside roads, and sometimes even nest on high-voltage poles. Nesting is done by both male and female birds. The nest is mainly composed of dead branches, which look like a bunch of messy branches from a distance, but it is actually very delicate, nearly spherical, with a top cover, with dead branches on the outer layer, weeds and dirt in the middle, twigs and dirt on the inner layer, and soft substances such as hemp, fiber, grass roots, moss, animal hair and feathers on the inner layer. [5]

Magpie nests are often built at the top of tall tree crowns, which are extremely eye-catching. Every winter 1 1 to 65438+February, magpies start nesting. Both men and women should take part in nesting, but male magpies must work harder. Because the branches used in the magpies' nests are relatively thick, some of them can barely hold the flight, while the female magpies seem to be physically exhausted, and most of them are transported by male magpies. At the beginning of nesting, magpies first pile the nest bottom on the fulcrum of three tree rights. When it spread to a considerable area, they stood in the center and built fences around it. Later, they went to the fence and put up a beam to further cover the top of the bird's nest.

Magpies often take a long time to build nests. It takes more than two months from the beginning of pruning to the initial formation of the bird's nest, and it takes about four months for all internal projects to be completed. The outer branches of the magpie's nest are criss-crossed, which looks rough, but in fact its overall structure is very complex and fine. From the outside, the whole magpie nest is an upright oval with a height of 80 cm and a transverse diameter of 60 cm, which makes it difficult for a person to hug. There is a round hole on the side of the nest, the diameter of which is just suitable for magpies to go in and out. The top of the nest is very thick, reaching 30 cm, and the branches are densely arranged, and the showers fall for a long time. There is a thumb-thick wicker beam inside, which is a solid support for the nest top. Magpies can put beams on their nests to protect them from the wind and rain. Seen from the cross section, the bottom of the nest is about 25 cm thick and can be divided into four layers: the outermost layer is made of branches of poplar, locust and willow, and the branches are as thick as pencils. Although the lengths are different, they are staggered very firmly, and it is very laborious to dismantle one separately. The inner layer is mostly soft branches of weeping willows, which are spirally crossed into hemispherical willow baskets and embedded in the lower half of the nest. Among them, the third process is the most peculiar, which is made of wicker baskets wrapped in river mud? Mud bowl? The wall of the bowl was covered with deep claw marks. Obviously, this is a beaked river mud, and then grab it with your toes? One step? I'm going up. Magpies are not only good at weaving, but also good at plastering. Is there a close-fitting bedding inside, a bed made of reed flowers, cotton wool, animal hair, human hair and bird hair? Spring mattress? .

Zoologists have also observed some birds that are not good at building nests or do not build their own nests at all. Such as cuckoo, red-footed falcon, etc. , occupying other birds' nests to lay eggs and brood. Because the magpie's nest is tall and big, and the target is obvious, it is often occupied by birds that don't have nests, especially the red-footed falcon. Magpies are good at building nests. The old nests they abandoned or the new nests they just built are often convenient for the beneficial raptors, so that the falcons (beneficial birds) from the south can have nests to live and reproduce.

The height of the magpie nest from the ground is 7- 15m, and the size of the nest is 48-85cm in outer diameter, 0/8-35cm in inner diameter and 44-60cm in height. The entrance and exit are oval with a diameter of 9- 1 1cm? 10- 15cm, slightly lower than the side. The nesting time is 20-30 days. After the nest is built, it begins to lay eggs, with 5-8 eggs per nest, sometimes as many as 1 1 egg, 1 day 1 egg, mostly in the early morning. Eggs are light blue green or blue or gray or grayish white, covered with brown or black spots, oval or rectangular, with a size of 23-26 mm? 32-38mm, with an average of 24.3mm? 34.5mm, weight 9- 13g. Eggs hatch as soon as they are hatched, females hatch, incubation period 17? 1 day. The chicks mature late, and the newly hatched chicks are naked and pink. Both male and female breed chicks together, and the chicks can leave the nest in about 30 days.

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