Can you eat Magpie ?

[Perrari]

Can you eat Magpies ? And is it legal to shoot them ?

[Wook]

I'd kind of assumed that they developed their name as a defence against being eaten. Saying Magpie Pie is just too much trouble.....

[Andy BB]

Its legal because - as with all corvids I believe (but stand to be corrected) - they're classed as vermin. They certainly do a job on songbird eggs and chicks!

[Chambers]

From what Ive previously seen, like other members of the Corvidae family you can eat them however you wouldnt really want to when you consider their diet. As far as I am away you are allowed to shoot them as they are classed as a pest however you would need to confirm this.

As for the tounge twister issue, try a stew :-p

[ex-member Raikey]

isnt there advice against eating corvids?...

although i have eaten crow, stewed in beer from an old english recipe a mate once read.

it wasnt the best tasting bird,..

[blacktimberwolf]

Adult corvid meat is pretty yukky......young bird's breasts are 'eatable' (cooked in milk or a stew,) if you haven't eaten for a fortnight......

That's bound to get some smutty remarks...

[Perrari]

Yep my head is full of 'smutty' remarks, but will refrain from posting them ! I will just have to cope having them inside my head.

[knifefan]

I believe most, if not all british birds are eddible - the same as all british freshwater fish are eddible!!!! It's just some taste a lot better than others!!! I wouldn't choose to eat any corvid, but if it was life and death - thats another matter!!! Also, if you were considering eating any starlings, you'll need to "skin" them as their skin is exteemley bitter (if not poisonous!!)

[widu13]

Read the General Licence for rules on killing them: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Ima...tcm6-24149.pdf If it's outside of this it's unlawful.

[awarner]

Rook pie, from memory handed down from people I used to work with on the farm, they used to climb up the tree and tie the chicks to a branch so they get nice and fat so you harvest them when they are at the point of leaving the nest.
Unlike magpies rooks are communal so easier to get more of.

[Manacles]

Yes you can. You can eat the breast meat, preferably from the youngsters just before they fledge. But do beware as they were known in the 18th century as "Maggotty Pie" due to their somewhat dubious carrion related diet. You might be better off with Rook, which as recently as the 2nd World War was eaten in the countryside, again from the nest just prior to fledging. The best way is either "steeped" (which is a sort of poaching in milk) of griddled, but be sure to do it for long enough to kill any "nasties" in the flesh as carrion creatures have all sorts of nasty hookworms and the like.


As far as the law regarding shooting is concerned you may need to check, the local cosntabulary or County Recorder of wildlife (find them from your local wildlife trust) will give you the latest position. I seem to recall a need for licences for shooting rooks, but I may be wrong on this.

[Dannytsg]

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/department...tification.cfm

If you visit the above link and download the PDF it will tell you all of the animals that can be hunted, including their seasons and the classification of the animal such as vermin etc.

You can control magpies all year round as they are classified as vermin. I wouldn;t want to eat them though due to the consitency of the meat.

[Perrari]

Thanks for all the replies guy's, I think I will give them a miss unless I find myself in a situation where I really have to.

[dump of the stig]

Its legal because - as with all corvids I believe (but stand to be corrected) - they're classed as vermin. They certainly do a job on songbird eggs and chicks!

not anti hunting in anyway shape or form but think now the idea that magpies and other corvids ar concidered to be fairly blameless
when put up against the damage grey squirrels, cats, enviromental damage ect. They dont course anywhere near the amount of damage as was once thought.
But yup ther fair game and legal to shoot so why not. I dont think id want too these days my self tho, magpies are such comical intelligent birds and
are amazing looking in the sunlight, the way they flair there tail and bob about, jays are gorgeous and just seem like they should be in the jungle
and jackdaws? well i feel a bit iffy shooting something you can teach to speak. Infact i watched a docu on animal intelligence not so long back
and a London university had done a study and now think most Corvids are capable of having the same problem solving skills as the average 7 year old child.
I guess its just about what you want todo

[Bushwhacker]

Never seen a cat or squirrel peck out a sheeps eyes before.

[andybysea]

Lived and helped out on a sheep farm for 3 yrs never seen a lamb with its eyes pecked out. (just saying like as im not against hunting for food at all)

[milegajo]

I read that the meat should be left overnight in milk, once done it tastes like "fishy Chicken". Not for me, though if I failed to catch anything else I would. Pigeons are in my experience far easier. Corvids are too darn observant and edgey out here in the woods. They spot you a mile off and scarper.

[nuggets]

av never seen a magpie play with a mouse or dead bird -just for fun - YES i,m a cat hater !!

[Bushwhacker]

Lived and helped out on a sheep farm for 3 yrs never seen a lamb with its eyes pecked out. (just saying like as im not against hunting for food at all)

Nothing like this then. http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91131

[Bushwhacker]

av never seen a magpie play with a mouse or dead bird -just for fun - YES i,m a cat hater !!

They tend to go for eggs and live chicks. Jays are actually worse IMO.

[fishfish]

isnt there advice against eating corvids?...

although i have eaten crow, stewed in beer from an old english recipe a mate once read.

it wasnt the best tasting bird,..

sure it wasnt rook? we eat rook,some folk think their crows,however theyre not carrion.

as for eating magpie,well if i was hungry i would,probably marinade in pataks vindaloo overnight to blind the taste!

[andybysea]

Bushwhacker not whilst i was there never came acroos any(not doubting it after seeing the linked thread though)

[British Red]

Surely if there is only one, it had to be a Magpus?

Same as if there is more than one Bagpuss - they must be Bagpie.

[Bushwhacker]

Surely if there is only one, it had to be a Magpus?

Same as if there is more than one Bagpuss - they must be Bagpie.

I did a real life lol at that one Mr vulgaris.

[dump of the stig]

Never seen a cat or squirrel peck out a sheeps eyes before.

only replying to a post about the impact crows have on song birds, the main excuse to shoot them.
Im not saying dont shoot them, just the get the reasons clear, if its fun and a bit of sport and you enjoy
it then go for it. crows pecking out the eyes of living healthy sheep is a new one on me. Ive
heard it before but just thought it was old wives tales. be good if you could expand on it?

[Bushwhacker]

only replying to a post about the impact crows have on song birds, the main excuse to shoot them.
Im not saying dont shoot them, just the get the reasons clear, if its fun and a bit of sport and you enjoy
it then go for it. crows pecking out the eyes of living healthy sheep is a new one on me. Ive
heard it before but just thought it was old wives tales. be good if you could expand on it?

I never knew the main excuse to shoot them was because of the impact they have on song birds. It's always been damage to livestock and crops so far as I've always understood.


If you refer to my previously posted link, you'll see my expansion on the eye pecking thing. http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91131

[Opal]

There's no way I could eat a Magpie, I once watched a magpie carry a dead rat onto a roof ridge and started eating the innards
as another magpie waited it's turn.
These birds would come and take the tops off our milk that was left by the milkman and drink it, you can imagine we
lashed many bottles.

We did have a cover but they took that off too.

[Cyclingrelf]

Bushwhacker not whilst i was there never came acroos any(not doubting it after seeing the linked thread though)

My parents keep sheep and I am currently living with them on the farm. Unfortunately, we have had problems with Magpies. One of our sheep got a graze on its shoulder, I think it was a bramble scratch to start with. The magpies saw the blood and enlarged the wound considerably until the animal had a gaping hole just behind the shoulder open right into the body cavity. We had to keep the ewe in a barn for a couple of months to keep the magpies off while she was treated.

We hadn't had any problems for several years before this incident - maybe it just needs a trigger (like the blood) to give the magpies the idea?

[British Red]

if its fun and a bit of sport and you enjoy
it then go for it.

Shooting any wild bird (other than game birds) for fun or a bit of sport is a specific offense under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Only species covered by the general licence in force on a given year may be shot and only then for the reasons approved by the act using a firearm of the type permitted.

[Lynx]

I have an old English cookbook that has recipes for just about every bird and animal in the UK. I borrowed it from the school library when I was 14. I am now 56. I should photocopy it and share it someday because my guess is that it's now well out of copy-write. I believe magpie are in there. It was an old book when I borrowed it and so it goes back years now.