Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 🪶

This is my first time participating in the #SMaP (Show Me a Photo) Contest. To be honest, I enjoy watching birds more than photographing them. That said, I have great respect for those who are passionately dedicated to this genre of photography—capturing birds.

With patience, some knowledge, and sometimes the right photography equipment, you can showcase the beauty of these flying creatures, which look down on us from above. Even the ugliest birds become beautiful because they fly.

I came across this Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) at Praia do Barril, Tavira (Portugal), in early September. It landed at the exact moment I was photographing the enormous anchors on the beach.

I don’t know if it was the same one I encountered an hour later, a kilometer and a half away, at the pool in the resort where I was staying. Judging by his expression, he might have recognized me and wondered what I was doing there.

This second photo has an interesting detail: the intense blue of its wings. It isn’t a blue coloration per se—it results from the metallic reflections in its plumage, which can vary between blue, green, and shades of purple depending on the angle of the light. In the first photo, taken almost against the light and creating a silhouette effect, the color isn’t visible, but its enormous tail stands out.

They belong to the Corvidae family, the same as crows, rooks, and jays. They have highly contrasting black and white plumage and are about 45 cm long.

I mapped this photo on XPLpic, created by @rishi556. It is the first photo uploaded from Portugal and the second from the Iberian Peninsula.