Magpies (the corvids, not the distantly related assholes in Australia) are so fascinating. They’re self-aware (they pass the mirror test) and they’re able to plan for future needs (for example, they’ll cache food and then hide tools nearby to later break into their cache). They have a huge variety of vocalizations that vary by region, sort of like dialects. They also engage in play just for the fun of it, like sliding down snowy hills and tossing and then catching objects. I could go on and on about magpies, such cool birds.




Lucky you!
There was a family of magpies in my yard at a place where I used to live. They’re so observant that they would look through my windows and watch me while I prepared food or cleaned or whatever in my kitchen. They recognize individual human faces. If you go out of your way to be nice or mean to them then they’ll remember that interaction for a long time and adjust their behavior around you accordingly.