The Thieving Magpie?

An interesting debate is developing about a recommendation that Magpies (Pica pica pica) should be culled to reduce their effects on nestlings and eggs (they eat them and feed them to their chicks) of garden song birds (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5165155/Cull-magpies-to-protect-dawn-chorus-say-campaigners.html). Needless to say, the RSPB is against this suggestion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1396652.stm), feeling that all birds deserve equal consideration and viewing the links between the declines of song birds and predator bird numbers as not being especially strong. Having said that, there is little doubt that Magpie numbers are booming (possibly because these birds benefit in the tough winter months from human provisioning of birds and human waste and don't now show marked winter declines) and that these intelligent members of the crow family can be highly efficient at locating the nests of smaller birds. It is, however, part of their normal behavioural repertoire and they may be 'picked on' to some extent because they have a) striking plumage and b) a 'bad' reputation in terms of luck and larceny. Jackdaws operate in a similar manner (and may be showing even greater population increases) but they have more somber feathers.