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FRANCE — When I was a kid, I heard stories about the brilliance of magpies. The stories usually went something like this: "My uncle's friend caught a magpie and slit its tongue and then it could talk. And that old bird used to say the funniest things. Once it recited the Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' on Halloween."
I was intrigued by these stories but assumed they were urban legends. Then I was out playing in the field behind my house one day and saw the Bennet boys coming out of a thicket of trees holding a magpie. I asked what they were doing, and they said that their dad liked teaching magpies to talk, so he'd requested they catch one for him.
Boom. I'd finally heard a firsthand account from someone who'd witnessed a talking magpie. The Bennet boys said their dad had taught other magpies to greet people when they walked in the house, and that the clever birds often repeated words from the family's conversations.
While I wasn't thrilled with the idea of people catching wild magpies and keeping them in small cages indoors, it was fascinating that the birds could apparently talk as well as any parrot.
But I think even the smartest magpie takes a backseat to Smudge. Check out this video of the bird in action:
As you can see, Smudge isn't simply a mimic. Smudge understands locking mechanisms and has dexterity that would make any of us jealous.
Basically, this bird has such a unique set of skills that it could become a bank robber if it wanted. But unless there's a cup of juice at the end of it all, I doubt Smudge is interested.
