The magpie belongs to the crow family. It is one of Ireland's most common birds. It is black and white in colour. The magpie is noted for their noisy harsh sound. Magpies are famous thieves.

They like bright shiny objects and often nick them. Magpies feed on almost anything including scraps of food dropped by people. You will often see them in our yard in school. As soon as we come in after break, they swoop down into the yard and search for scraps.
I often see them pulling plastic bags open that are left out to be collected by the council binmen. They often leave a road in a terrible mess. People should put their rubbish into the bins, so the birds cannot pull them apart and leave the place in a mess. They are especially known for robbing other bird's nests. They can be found anywhere in the country and are especially plentiful in gardens in towns and cities.

Magpies came to Ireland in 1679. In that year a party of less than a dozen of them arrived in County Wexford,Ireland, blown there by a strong east wind. They have been here in Ireland ever since. Magpies go out in pairs. It is a lovely looking bird and has a lovely long tail.

There is a rhyme about them--:

     "One for sorrow,

     Two for joy.

     Three for a girl

    And four for a boy.

Do you believe these old sayings???????

I don't know if I do or not.

The stamp was issued in Phase 2 on August 27th. 1997.