This is a truth that mum and I discovered whilst taking a walk yesterday evening.
On our way home from the video store, we happened to see this poor little baby magpie just sitting in the middle of the road. A HUGE truck was coming down the street, and I thought 'That's the end for the poor magpie' but surprisingly, the driver actually saw the little bird and stopped for it and honked. When it still didn't move, the passenger rolled down his window and asked Mum and I "Where is it"
"It's right in the middle so you should be fine. Very cautiously the truck began to move forward, just when it did the magpie headed towards the other side of the road, right under the trucks tire. the truck passed and turned into the next street. I thought surely there would be smashed 'pie on the road, but there was the little guy slowly making it's way to the other side. Once traffic cleared I crossed the road, and rescued the little bird. Now I don't really like magpies (except for their beautiful call [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXBuxN1LwFs&feature=related] which always reminds me of my first morning in Australia.) they're huge, and annoying, and they swoop you, but as soon as I felt his soft fluffy baby feathers, and felt his feet grip me, I couldn't just let him stay and possible get run over, he couldn't even fly. So I scooped him in my arms and carried him with me. Less than half a block later, the truck driver came running after me.
"Do you still have him?" He asked
I told him I did
"Can you take a photo of me with him? See, I'm a 'pies (Magpie, Collingwood footy team 
) fan."
) fan."I told him that even though I was a Cats (Geelong footy team
) I would take it.
) I would take it.So I took the photo, of him holding the baby magpie, then he took a close up of it in my hand.
"He's a cute little guy isn't he?"
As we started to walk away, he asked if I was going to take care of him. I told him I would.
So I brought it home, showed it to the family. Dad told me I had to put it outside right that instant! So I put him in the grass, and gave him some worms, but he didn't eat them. Benjamin said I needed to chew them up first.
He's lasted a day now. I named him 'Lil Guy, and apparently magpies are very intelligent, and can learn to talk. I'm trying to get him to say 'Go cats' :) A mother magpie that lives in our yard, after 20 hours of just staring at him, finally adopted him, and has been feeding him, so hopefully he'll live, and learn to fly.
