The Magpie, Australia's answer to the Penguin.

Consider the Penguin. Cute little black and white outfit, looks like a butler. Always ready to serve the adoring human public with playful appearances throughout the history of Animal documentaries and always a favorite for any zoo visit.

We humbly offer Australia's attempt at a cute black and white bird... the Magpie. This unassuming, rather pretty bird comes complete with a germ infested razor sharp beak that destroys it's prey by slowly crunching it into oblivion. This however is not the their best trick.

They are renowned for being very territorial, The mere tinkle of a bicycle bell within a mile of the nest brings the beast out in these buggars.  They assume that the big galoot riding the bike is there to steal the eggs, because we all know the preferred way of climbing a tree is on a bike. So the Magpie leaves its young to the mercy of the Kookaburras just to use their instinctive Kamikaze skills on the unsuspecting intruder. Little blond haired rug rats are their favorite target, as they also like to to use the bloodied strands of hair to help strengthen the nest.

So next time you're downunder, take ride through the suburban streets in the beautiful sunshine, and help us maintain this wonderful part of our wild landscape.