People regard magpie as a symbol of "good luck". There are many beautiful myths and legends about it. Legend has it that magpies can give good news. There is a story that there was a man named Li Jingyi at the end of Zhenguan. There was a magpie nest in the tree in front of his house. He often fed the magpies in the nest. For a long time, people and birds had feelings.
Once Li Jingyi was wrongly imprisoned, which made him feel painful. Suddenly one day, the bird he fed stopped at the prison window and kept barking. He thought to himself that some good news was coming. Sure enough, he was acquitted three days later. It's because magpies become people and falsely preach the imperial edict.
These stories prove that the custom of painting magpies for good luck is very popular, and there are many varieties: for example, two magpies face to face and are called "happy meeting"; Adding an ancient coin to the double magpie is called "happiness is in sight"; A badger and a magpie looked at each other under the tree and shouted "merrily". The most widely circulated is the picture of magpie boarding plum branches to report good news, also known as "beaming."
Population status
In Europe, the breeding population of magpies is estimated to be 7,500,000- 19,000,000 breeding pairs, equivalent to 22,500,000-57,000,000 individuals (in 2004). Estimates of the total number include: there are about 10,000- 100,000 breeding pairs in China.
There are about 100- 100,000 introduced breeding pairs in Taiwan Province Island; There are about 10,000- 100,000 breeding pairs in Korea; There are about 100- 10,000 breeding pairs in Japan (probably imported) and about 10,000- 100,000 breeding pairs in Russia (2009).
This species has a wide distribution range, which is not close to the critical value standard of fragile and endangered species survival (distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20,000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size and fragmentation of distribution area), and the population trend is stable, so it is evaluated as a species without survival crisis.
However, for more than 20 years since 2 1 century, due to the extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers and environmental pollution, the population of magpies has decreased sharply, and it has been difficult to see in many places. Some areas have listed it as a local key protected bird.