Magpie

Abandoned as a baby, Charlie Gilmour struggled until a magpie helped him fly free of his demons  

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BOOK OF THE WEEK  Fatherhood by Charlie Gilmour (Weidenfeld £15.99, 288 pp) Featherhood, it would be tempting to say, is where Helen Macdonald’s H Is For Hawk meets Gerald Durrell’s My Family And Other Animals. But Charlie Gilmour’s memoir is so original and ingeniously wrought, it stands on its own as a book to which … Read more

Brown rat takes on magpie in daylight battle before it is chased off by its sharp-beaked foe 

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Rat attack! Brown rat takes on magpie in daylight battle before it is chased off by its sharp-beaked foe Horrifying chase was filmed in Marble Arch, outside Hyde Park, central London Animals may have been protecting babies from each other, causing the fight Video was filmed by magician Shaun Ames, 37, during his daily lockdown … Read more

Shot of a jackal chasing a magpie is among entries in prestigious German photography contest 

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Fast food! Shot of a jackal chasing a magpie is among entries in prestigious German photography contest A photo of a golden jackal chasing a magpie is one of the entries in the Glanzlichter Nature Photo Contest The competition is open to nature photographers of all experience from hobbyists to professionals The overall winning picture was … Read more

Magpie star Tommy Boyd got £10,000 to entertain King of Brunei’s son

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TV and radio presenter Tommy Boyd would ban pocket money if he were made Chancellor of the Exchequer. Boyd, who famously presented children’s TV shows Magpie, Jigsaw and the Wide Awake Club in the 1970s and 1980s, was once paid the equivalent of £10,000 in 1985 to entertain the Crown Prince of Brunei at his … Read more