Australian Magpie

[Terrier]

Mr and Mrs Australian Magpie ( race hypoleuca ).

 

[K9Kirk]

You guys have some of the prettiest birds, especially up in the Northern Territory.

 

[jeffashman]

Beautiful bird!

 

[Jeff G]

That's no Magpie, it's an Orca bird! Love those markings.

 

[Terrier]

Thanks for the comments. The early European settlers in Australia named many of our unique species after ones that they had a resemblance to and they were familiar with. Hence we have, Wrens, Robins, Larks, Thrush's and in this case Magpies that are not related at all to the Northern Hemisphere species. We also have fish like Salmon, Perch, Snook, Herring, Bream and Snapper etc that although similar in appearance are not related to the true species.