British scientists have disproved the myth of The Thieving Magpie – BFM.Ru

Magpies actually afraid of shiny objects

Scientists from the British University of Exeter denied widespread myth that the magpies have an irresistible urge to steal a variety of shiny stuff for their nests, reports BBC News.

In addition, according to experts, on the contrary, when a magpie shiny objects are nervous, because, perhaps, consider them unusual and dangerous.

To prove his theory, researchers conducted experiment: they put next to the shiny objects edible nuts. Of the 64 cases, only 2 times magpies prefer to take in the beak is not food, and things, but then they were discarded. The scientists also noted that in the presence of shiny objects magpies ate less.