History Main / ThievingMagpie

* While it is certainly true that magpies, and corvids in general, have a well-deserved reputation as thieves, there is no evidence that they consistently prefer shiny objects over anything else. They are more likely to steal, for instance, morsels of food from campsites and outdoor restaurants.

* This is TruthInTelevision. Corvids are "[[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bird+solving+puzzle geniuses of the avian world]] and can solve quite complex puzzles to get what they want.
** In Swedish the name for magpies is ''skata'', which can be read as "will take". It's not the actual meaning of the word, but is sometimes pointed out as an accurate interpretation. The word skata was originally a euphemism or "noa word" of skjora/skjura. [[SpeakOfTheDevil If you used their real name they could come and steal your soul]].
** Rooks have a similar reputation: an archaic/dialect word for a [[TheCityNarrows den of thieves or pickpocket-infested neighbourhood]] is a "rookery", and to "rook" someone is to steal from them or defraud them.
** In Russian words for crow and raven can be read as "s/he (Russian crow is she) is a thief".
** A person might be described as a "magpie" if they're an obsessive hoarder or CollectorOfTheStrange (not necessarily of stolen goods). There is a series of trivia books that go by the title of "The [X] Magpie", the implied collection being of interesting facts.
* In UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball, Collingwood's nickname of "the Magpies" comes from both the club's colors of black and white, and the reputation of the Collingwood area at the time of the team's founding (and indeed, for decades thereafter): it was widely seen as the home of thieves and other criminals. It must be noted that Australian magpies are not corvids but Songbirds, unrelated to European magpies (and they are not known for taking shiny objects so much as for divebombing passers-by who get too close to their nests).

* In UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball, Collingwood's nickname of "the Magpies" comes from both the club's colors of black and white, and the reputation of the Collingwood area at the time of the team's founding (and indeed, for decades thereafter): it was widely seen as the home of thieves and other criminals. It must be noted that Australian magpies are not corvids but Songbirds, unrelated to European magpies.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* Blackwing, Vaarsuvius's raven familiar in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', has a penchant for "baubles". It's mostly PlayedForLaughs, though at one point he does snag a useful ioun stone when he attacks an enemy caster.

** In ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampyres']] magpie mascots pinch Granny Weatherwax's gold-edged invite to the naming of Verence and Magrat's baby. Cue Granny thinking [[FairyTale/SleepingBeauty she's been snubbed]] as she hasn't received her invite, while everybody else in the kingdom has.

* The Literature/BloodRavens chapter in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' received the FanNickname of "Blood Magpies", as they have a ''startling'' amount of wargear [[KleptomaniacHero that originally belonged to other chapters in their possession]]. Given a nod in one of the novels, where a visitor sees their trophy room and notes that it looks like a magpies' nest.

* ''Literature/{{Firstborn}}'': The magie protagonist Maggie has husband who is an obsessive hoarder. It's one of the reasons she leaves him (and starts avoiding magpies in general).

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See also MagpiesAsPortents, which is about the association of certain numbers of magpies with bad (or sometimes good) luck and the rituals for warding the bad luck off.

* In Swedish the name of the bird is ''skata'', which can be read as "will take". It's not the actual meaning of the word, but is sometimes pointed out as an accurate interpretation. The word skata was originally a euphemism or "noa word" of skjora/skjura. [[SpeakOfTheDevil If you used their real name they could come and steal your soul]].
* Rooks have a similar reputation: an archaic/dialect word for a [[TheCityNarrows den of thieves or pickpocket-infested neighbourhood]] is a "rookery", and to "rook" someone is to steal from them or defraud them.
* A person might be described as a "magpie" if they're an obsessive hoarder or CollectorOfTheStrange (not necessarily of stolen goods). There is a series of trivia books that go by the title of "The [X] Magpie", the implied collection being of interesting facts.

** In ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampyres']] magpie mascots pinch Granny Weatherwax's invite to the naming of Verence and Magrat's baby. Cue Granny thinking she's been snubbed as she hasn't received her invite, while everybody else in the kingdom has.

* Alluded to in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' -- one of the parallel universes is colloquially referred to by the name of the only city the main characters ever visit, Cittegazze -- "city of magpies". It's heavily infested with Spectres, ghostly things that attack adults and steal their souls but leave children alone, which is why the city is by now a (pre-)TeenageWasteland.

-->'''Narrator:''' The combination of her father's sharp eye for a glistening bauble, and her mother's mighty crocodilian jaws, made her an accomplished little thief and murderer, and barely a day would pass without her flying in through my bedroom window -- open or not -- with a diamond ring or sapphire anklet... often, regrettably, still attached to the attendant limb.

* A person might be described as a "magpie" if they're an obsessive hoarder or CollectorOfTheStrange (not necessarily of stolen goods).

[[folder:Literature]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Stoked}}'': In "To Catch a Reef", a thieving seagull cases Reefs to be accused of being a thief.

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[[/index]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story "[[Recap/TintinTheCastafioreEmerald The Castafiore Emerald]]" takes its plot resolution from ''La Gazza Ladra'' (see Opera below). The EurekaMoment comes when Tintin hears that Bianca Castafiore, still missing her emerald, will be performing in said Rossini opera -- sure enough, he finds the jewel in a magpie's nest.

* A minor ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villain was named Magpie for her kleptomania and the [[StevenUlyssesPerhero unfortunate birth name]] Margaret Pye.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* Quoth the Raven of Literature/{{Discworld}}, a familiar of Death and friend to the Death of Rats, always pounces on shiny things in the vain hope that they might be [[TrademarkFavoriteFood eyeballs]]. He claims that this tendency is where his genus' reputation for thievery comes from.
* In ''Discworld/{{Carpe Jugulum}}'', the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampyres']] magpie mascots pinch Granny Weatherwax's invite to the naming of Verence and Magrat's baby. Cue Granny thinking she's been snubbed as she hasn't received her invite, while everybody else in the kingdom has.

* Trader Mags of ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'' and her assistant Bubbles have been known to collect artifacts and other stuff humans ([[HoldYourHippogriffs or Others, as the owls call them]]) had left behind after they disappeared. Otulissa dislikes her because she was collecting trash...until she checks the stuff out in "The Shattering" and praises the magpie.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Dumbledore uses this analogy when referring to young Tom Riddle (the boy who would become [[BigBad Voldemort]] after a PensieveFlashback. This helps him and Harry understand Voldemort's behavior since then, including his use of {{SoulJar}}s.

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]

[[folder: NewspaperComics]]
* [[Literature/TheRaven Lenore]], Dethany's raven in ''ComicStrip/{{On the Fast Track}}'' has a fondness for shiny things, including stealing people's keys.

[[folder:{{Opera}}]]
* The TropeNamer (and probably TropeCodifier) is Rossini's ''La Gazza Ladra'', "The Thieving Magpie", which is also something of a SpoilerTitle; the titular magpie is revealed to be responsible for the thefts of silver cutlery that initially set off the plot. The music has been used as a {{Leitmotif}} for [[GeniusBonus thieving characters]] in both ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' and ''Series/{{Sherlock}}''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* A sketch on ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'' features Polly the Croco-pie, a {{Mix and Match Critter|s}} spawned by "[[HotSkittyOnWailordAction an unusually docile crocodile and a quite heroically determined magpie]]".
-->'''Narrator:''' The combination of her father's sharp eye for a glistening bauble, and her mother's mighty crocodilian jaws, made her an accomplished little thief and murderer, and barely a day would pass without her flying in through my bedroom window -- open or not -- with a diamond ring or sapphire anklet... often, regrettably, still attached to the attendant limb.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* Both normal and giant magpies were described in the ''Creature Catalog'', a monster book for Basic/Expert/etc ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Their stats made them weak in combat, but excellent filchers of unattended shiny objects; in effect, they were a potential hook for the DM to lure parties into other encounters, by having a magic item snatched up by this trope's embodiment and forcing them to pursue it.
* The BloodRavens chapter in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' received the FanNickname of "Blood Magpies", as they have a ''startling'' amount of wargear [[KleptomaniacHero that originally belonged to other chapters in their possession]]. Given a nod in one of the novels, where a visitor sees their trophy room and notes that it looks like a magpies' nest.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* The bird-like Kig-Yar (aka "Jackals") of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' are directly compared to magpies as a whole for their thieving and pirating ways, with the [[VideoGame/HaloReach Skirmisher]] subspecies being particularly attracted to shiny objects. Skirmishers also have large, black feathers adorning their arms and heads, unlike the other kig-yar with their sharp, quill-like feathers.

[[folder:{{Webcomics}}]]
* Blackwing, Vaarsuvius' raven familiar in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', has a penchant for "baubles". It's mostly PlayedForLaughs, though at one point he does snag a useful ioun stone when he attacks an enemy caster.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9yPrLWMyU This]] animated short, ''Peck Pocketed'', is about a magpie stealing an old lady's belongings.

* One ''WesternAnimation/MrBean'' The animated Series'' episode had one of these, and naturally Bean was framed for its theft.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/ShaunTheSheep'' had the titular character dealing with one.

* In UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball, Collingwood's nickname of "the Magpies" comes from both the club's colors of black and white, and the reputation of the Collingwood area at the time of the team's founding (and indeed, for decades thereafter): it was widely seen as the home of thieves and other criminals. It must be noted that Australian magpies are not corvids but Songbirds, unrelated to european magpies.

* The bird-like Kig-Yar (aka "Jackals") of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' are directly compared to magpies as a whole for their thieving and pirating ways, with the [[VideoGame/HaloReach Skirmisher]] subspecies being particularly attracted to shiny objects.

* ''HeckleAndJeckle'' are two wise-cracking magpies who, by trait, con their way into getting whatever they need. They also make life miserable for two dogs, a lugubrious bloodhound (Dimwit) and a tough bulldog (unofficially named Chesty).
* Occurred in an episode of ''CliffordTheBigRedDog'', where a crow snatched shiny things and kept them in his nest, leaving Clifford to get blamed for stealing.

* One ''MrBean'' The animated Series'' episode had one of these, and naturally Bean was framed for its theft.

[[/folder]]

This stereotype is based on the fact that magpies collect shiny objects to line their nests in order to attract a mate. Easy to see how people might think this was like a small-scale version of a DragonHoard.

* In AustralianRulesFootball, Collingwood's nickname of "the Magpies" comes from both the club's colors of black and white, and the reputation of the Collingwood area at the time of the team's founding (and indeed, for decades thereafter): it was widely seen as the home of thieves and other criminals. It must be noted that Australian magpies are not corvids but Songbirds, unrelated to european magpies.