The bright moon is not frightening, and the breeze chirps cicadas in the middle of the night. Did such a cheerful magpie really have a bad reputation?
In the impression of many people, the magpie is a lucky bird that is deeply loved by the Chinese people. It often appears in New Year paintings, ancient poems, folk tales, and even forms unique images. For example, two magpies call face to face".Happy meeting”；The double magpie adds an ancient coin called".Joy is in front of you”；The badger and the magpie look at each other and shout".Rejoice”。Magpie on the plum branch, called".Glad eyebrows”。Xin Qijian met magpies at night, and mentioned the poem "The bright moon does not frighten the magpies", and the husband went home from the expedition,".Today, the magpie is flying, and it should be a madman！"Promotion,"Proudly occupy the high branches, and forget the shape of the tail to the sky. Concealing worries only to report good news, but for promotion?
There are many rights and wrongs in bird redness, and the people's views on magpies are polarized. Some people regard it as an auspicious bird, and some people call it a "little gangster" and "rogue bird".
In a lot of rural areas, magpies are really unlikable。"Flower magpie, long tail, married daughter-in-law forgot mother", "cocked tail" has become synonymous with pride and complacency. Some old people told me that the bird he hated the most was the magpie, a "gangster" and a "rogue bird". And magpies do "evil" in groups in rural areas, and they flock into "organized" "rogue birds". Because of their small gas and grudges, the local dogs and cats in the village often become the targets of magpie beatings, and even naughty children cannot escape the magpie's mouth
The magpie's nest is also very characteristic and is one of the most familiar nests of birdsEven in many people's memory, a bird's nest should be what a magpie's nest looks like。But you may not know that the magpie's nest surrounded by branches and weeds is extremely luxurious inside, not to mention sheltered from the wind and rain, or a duplex multi-storey, which can be called a mansion among birds.
So what kind of bird is a magpie?
Actually, both statements are true, and they are not all true. Before the Han Dynasty, magpies were even regarded as fierce birds. After the Tang Dynasty, the magpie's meaning of auspiciousness completely set the tone. And this long process is the process of magpies constantly integrating into human life, and it is also the helpless choice of birds under the changes of the natural environment.
Magpies are a genus of magpies in the family Crowidae, with a total of 10 subspecies worldwide. With the exception of South America, magpies are found almost all over the globe and are one of the few wild birds that can be integrated into human life. China has four subspecies of magpies, which are of size40-50 cm, the whole front is black and the back is white. Head, neck, back, mouth, legs, feetAll are blackThe wing shoulders and ventral surface are bounded by the thoraxIt's all whiteIt looks very festive!
The magpie is a resident bird that does not migrate with the seasons. It has a variety of habitats, including wilderness, farmland, suburbs, cities, parks, and where there are more people, there are more flocks of magpies. Magpies are omnivorous birds, and although they feed on fruits, grains, and plant seeds in human society, they also hunt small animals such as sparrows, mice, and chickens. Occasionally, it also eats the carcasses of some animals, but on the whole, it mainly eats insects that harm crops, such as locusts, beetles, pine caterpillars, etc., and is a beneficial bird!
The magpie is known to some as a rogue bird and is related to its habits. Magpies have a small amount of energy, love to hold grudges, but they are very fond of group beatings, relying on group advantages and their own dexterity and mobility, and organized "hooliganism", which makes farmers unable to guard against it. Sexually alert and omnivorous. In particular, he likes to send sentinels to explore the way, and a flock of magpies will fly soon after there is no danger, but they still take turns foraging. Therefore, it is difficult for rural sausages and bacon to escape the mouth of the magpie.
Some people may say, it's not enough to have a cat, that's something you haven't seen, and 3 cats that magpies can peck don't dare to go out. Herds of magpies rely on gangs to commit crimes, and ordinary cats and dogs in the nursing home are no match at all. In the bird world, although the magpie has average combat effectiveness, "the hero can't stand the crowd", even if it is a bird of prey like an eagle, it will be robbed of food by the magpie flock. And the magpie's chirping is monotonous and loud, like "zha- zha-zha". When there is a crowd, the cry is very noisy. This is why it is often called "hooligan" in rural areas.
When it comes to magpies, we have to talk about the magpie's nest, which is almost the only nest that many people have ever seen.
Magpies are birds that value their houses very much, and magpies without a house can hardly find objects. This may be the best proof of its integration into human life. But fortunately, as long as the male bird builds a nest, the female bird will build with it. They are built from the winter of each year (around November) until the end of spring (around April). It is because of the nest that the magpie does not need to fly to a warm place for the winter!
The magpie's nest looks tattered and overgrown on the outside, but in fact it is very luxurious! You know, the vast majority of nests in the world are open-topped, but magpies are not. Here we have to talk about a scientific knowledge:Living in an open-top nest, how do birds shelter from the rain?
Actually,Most bird feathers have evolved to shelter from the rain. There is a wax in their feathers that allows rainwater to run down their feathers instead of sticking to their bodies. Therefore, most birds' nests are not covered, and when it rains, you only need to protect the chicks with your own wings to shelter from the wind and rain!
But the magpie's nest is very particular! They have long exceeded the subsistence line, began to be like a person, the pursuit of quality life. The magpie will build its nest very comfortably, not only to add a roof, but also to decorate the interior very carefully. Their "doors" are human-like and open from the side to accommodate the entry and exit of a magpie. Moreover, magpies are especially fond of large high-rise buildings and will try their best to put their nests on the top of the canopyThe nest stands up to form an oval shape, and the large magpie nest can reach 80 cm high, which is very conspicuous.
The magpie's house has a messy of branches on the outside, but in fact, it has three floors: the outside, the middle and the inside.
Specifically:OutermostThe magpie's nest is made up of dead branches and weeds, the branches are used for fixation, and the weeds and dirt are responsible for bonding and keeping out the wind!
Middle layerIt is made of thin short branches, and is finely coated with saliva and soil in the middle layer to ensure that the nest is impermeable!
The innermost layerIt is the magpie's carefully selected hemp, fibers, animal hair, and bird feathers that form a warm and comfortable layer!
Magpies do not build their nests at will, and are often carefully evaluated before starting construction. The general magpie nest will meet these building parameters: 7-15m high from the ground, 48-85cm outer diameter of the nest, 18-35cm inner diameter, and 44-60cm high. The oval gate opens at the lower side of the 11cm (10-15) cm. A small number of "artisan" magpies even renovate and expand their nests over the years, making them truly duplexes.
Among the nests of birds, the nest of magpies really deserves the word "mansion"!
When I was a child, I often heard doves occupying magpies' nests, and I thought magpies were weak at that time. When I grew up, I realized that the magpie is definitely not a weak bird, but why can't it keep its house? This can only be blamed on the magpie's house being repaired too well and too sought-after. In fact, in addition to doves, cuckoos and falcons will forcibly take possession of magpies' nests.
Seeing this, you may have questions. Isn't the magpie a "rogue bird"? Isn't it good at group fighting? Why can't you even keep the house. It's not surprising that it's often bullies who can drive away hooligans. For most birds, the nest is just a breeding place, giving the young a habitat and easily attracting parasites. If targeted by other predators, the nest is a deadly cage. Most of the birds don't even sleep in their nests at all, or in the trees, or in the grass, or under the eaves, as long as it thinks it's safe. In nature, only the truly apex birds rest in fixed nests for long periods of time.
In this context, the magpie can develop the habit of building a mansion, which is itself a symbol of strength. Who can guarantee that they will never encounter a more powerful enemy? You see some of the magpies that have lost their nests, but you don't know that most of the birds don't even dare to live in their nests.
Understanding the magpie, let's take a look at the changes in its image in the eyes of humans, why does its image slowly turn from evil to good?
The Book of Poetry, Zhaonan, Magpie's Nest has clouds".Wei Que has a nest, Wei Hong dwells", "Wei Que has a nest, Wei Hong Fang", "Wei Que has a nest, Wei Hong YingzhiIt uses magpie as a metaphor for men and a woman as a metaphor for women, describing the scene of a woman marrying into a man's house. This is the earliest cultural image of the magpie, and there is no positive or negative connotation.
Chu Ci Nine Chapters Shijiang" wrote".The warbler and the phoenix emperor are far away. The bird's nest is black, and the nest is full of altars”。It uses Luan Feng as a metaphor for talented gentlemen, and as a metaphor for treacherous villains, expressing that the gentleman is alienated, but the villain enters the house. The cultural image of the magpie gradually turned derogatory.
During the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, the history recorded that "the black gas is like a flying magpie, and it is sold for a few months", and then the Yellow Turban Army uprising occurred. The image of the magpie in the north began to have the meaning of "ominous".
In the late Wei and Jin dynasties, the image of the magpie was completely clear. "Magpie nests" are seen as bad omen, i.e. as long as the magpie does not build its nest in a tree, such as under the eaves of a building, it will be seen as ominous. This situation continued until the Tang Dynasty, so searching for the word "magpie" in the historical books before the Tang Dynasty yielded almost nothing.
Tang's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" recorded".Those who hear the sound of magpies in the homes of the people of the time are all good signs, so it is called 'good news of the spirit magpie'It can be seen that the magpie annunciation has been accepted by the public at that timeThe word "magpie" also officially began to be linked, until today
Know what it is, know why it is. The change in the image of the magpie actually has its own special reasons, mainly because of two points:
(1) Changes in the environment
During the Qin and Han dynasties, China's forest resources were very abundant. Far from today, there were very few natural forest areas in the plains. Against this background, magpies live high in large trees and are not close to humans. Therefore, once magpies build nesting palaces, city gates, masts, etc., it will be regarded as an abnormal behavior against nature.
(2) Changes in magpie habits
However, with the development of agricultural culture, the forest was destroyed on a large scale. Magpies began to appear frequently in farmland, and environmental changes have reduced the number of magpies to the huge black magpie population. And the magpie had to start approaching humans, the habits of their relatives began to come to the fore, and the image began to slowly reverse.
Magpies are the most common companion birds in human life, their careful nesting, do not climb up because of curiosity, this will make magpies feel unsafe, and even give up the nest, it is likely to miss the best breeding period, magpies are not only beneficial birds, but also represent auspiciousness, I hope to get everyone's kindness.
It is not easy to write an article, welcome to pay attention. Thank you for your valuable read, thanks! **10,000 Fans Incentive Plan