Just like school kids

We only had one bully at primary school and he wasn’t very good at it. Although I was never directly affected I was vaguely aware of where he was in the schoolyard and when he got close I kept my head down. What I was aware of was the circle of yelling school kids on the oval after school that formed as the bully tussled (not always successfully) with his latest victim.

I was reminded of this last week when I observed a circle of a dozen Australian Magpies  (Cracticus tibicen) carolling loudly around two birds having a rough and tumble (pictured left). A search of the web to explain such behaviour revealed that this is not an uncommon occurrence in magpies with many explanations given for such behaviour – a territorial dispute between flocks, determining the pecking order within a flock or a battle for food or even breeding rights.

Dust ups between birds I am used to seeing (see Wattlebird Wars). They are usually over and done with in a flash. However in this case the dominant magpie in the fight held the other magpie down for several minutes occasionally delivering a peck or two to the prostrate victim which just laid there (pictured right). The carolling onlookers also added a peck or two for good measure.

What disturbed me about the whole proceeding was that it somehow looked vaguely – human!