Magpies

When my wife first moved to Utah she Magpies saw for the first time and thought they were such beautiful birds ... that is until she got you know them better! They really are beautiful in their appearance, but their attitudes and behavior really confirm the phrase ... their beauty is only skin (feather) deep!

While fly fishing the Weber River last spring, these two characters were my companions for nearly an hour. They had found an old deer carcass and one of them had scrounged up a tiny morsel for himself. Instead of doing the same, the other guy spent the next hour trying to steal it from the first! It was hilarious to watch them fight over such a tiny morsel of food! I am certain that there was more where that had come from!

The thief (the have not) would land several feet away on the fence wire, then hop toward the feeding bird (the have). When it got too close for comfort, the "have" would squawk and flap its wings, then fly a little ways off to continue feeding. The whole scene would then replay itself over and over until the morsel was finally stolen. The roles would then be reversed, but the script was the same.

I vowed to paint them someday ... someday finally came! They are really beautiful birds to paint ... hope I captured their personality as well! Enjoy ...

Acrylic on canvas (24" x 18")