Do magpies remember faces? Yes, and they hold grudges

Ever noticed a magpie that swoops you every single morning while letting everyone else stroll past? You're not imagining it. It knows you.

Magpies recognise individual humans

Australian magpies can tell people apart by their faces, and they remember. The Australian Museum notes a magpie can recognise up to 100 individual people. Research led by Professor Darryl Jones at Griffith University found magpies form opinions about specific humans and act on them, both good and bad.

A magpie that's decided you're a threat will single you out from a crowd. One that's decided you're fine will ignore you while swooping the stranger behind you.

How long do they remember?

A long time. Magpies live 25 years or more in the wild and stay in the same territory year after year. Anecdotes of a magpie holding a grudge against one person for several seasons are common, and they fit what we know about the birds' memory.

So if you threw a rock at a magpie five years ago, yes, it might still be that one.

They're smarter than you'd think

Face recognition is one example. Others:

• Problem solving. Magpies have passed cognitive tests in the lab, and birds in bigger social groups tend to do better.
• Cooperation. In a 2022 study, magpies fitted with tiny tracking harnesses worked together to remove them from each other, something researchers hadn't seen before.
• Mimicry. They can imitate other birds, dogs, horses and the odd human sound.
• Play. Young magpies wrestle, chase and hang upside down from branches, for no reason other than fun.

How to get on a magpie's good side

You can't make friends with every magpie, but you can avoid making enemies:

1. Don't run. Walk past calmly and let the bird watch you.
2. Look at it. Magpies are less likely to swoop someone who's looking at them.
3. Be boring. Walk the same route, the same way, every day. Familiarity helps.
4. Never throw anything. That's how you end up on the list.

A word on feeding—it's tempting, but BirdLife Australia advises against it. Mince and bread are bad for them (no calcium, wrong nutrients) and feeding can make a bird more territorial. If you want magpies around, keep a birdbath topped up and leave the lawn a bit wild for the beetles and worms they actually eat.

Magpies that only swoop you

If one has your number, you have two choices. Take a different route for the six weeks of nesting, or make yourself less threatening with a hat, sunglasses and a steady pace. Grudges don't last forever, but they do last longer than you'd like.

Then, there's Swoopy Season, a card game of 18 cranky magpies who'll only swoop you across the kitchen table.