Opportunistic Magpie

Our local magpies are no less opportunistic in their behaviour than any others. A family of them appears every time I go to feed the chickens, knowing that I am likely to spill some grain. But I was surprised to see a bird pulling a thistle head apart. Standing on a fence post to reach the seeding plants, this bird was busily engaged in extracting something from the seed heads. I can only surmise that this bird was not feeding on the seeds on offer but that it was searching for the insects hiding within, most likely earwigs.