The Conversation

Curious Kids: how do magpies detect worms and other food underground?

25-12-2019 Author: Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour, University of New England

Magpies have a few clever tricks to help them find food. Gisela Kaplan, Author provided

How do magpies detect worms and other food sources underground? I often see them look or listen, then rapidly hop across the ground and start digging with their beak and extract a worm or bug from the earth – Catherine, age 10, Perth.

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