Many, on meeting the bird, raise their cap to it or even salute it to avoid bad luck. Seeing a lone magpie before going out ...

In good light, black on wings and tail shine with iridescent green ... but the birds are easily able to quickly change direction in flight. Magpies usually swoop up or down to perch.

Finding the perfect story for an audience is not easy. It’s always going to need a lot of research work, a talented crew working together using their instincts, and of course often a stroke of luck.

These are some of the ominous warnings issued in Australia each spring, as magpies and humans begin their annual turf war. Streets and parks become a battleground, as the birds - descending from ...

the Javan Green Magpie. "In some of the continent's forests, wildlife is being removed at an alarming rate," narrated Attenborough, as the onscreen setting transferred over to the island of Java.