Oriental magpie
The Oriental magpie (Pica sericea) is a species of magpie found in East Asia.[1] It is a common symbol of Korea, and has been adopted as the "official bird" of many South Korean cities and counties.
| Oriental magpie | |
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| Species: | sericea
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| Pica sericea | |
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| Dark red/orange/brown-grey: Oriental magpie range | |
It is similar to the Eurasian magpie, with a shorter tail and longer wings. It has black and purple colors, but very little green. The Oriental magpie has the same chattering call as Eurasian magpies, though it is much softer.
Magpie myths
Koreans believed that magpies delivered good news, and when they saw a magpie chattering, they believed that visitors were coming.[2]The most famous painting related to a magpie is the one with striped tiger (ggach'i wha horangi minhwa, Hangul: 까치와 호랑이 민화): the magpie is chirping to a tiger. The magpie represented good news and the tiger symbolized good luck, since its pronunciation in Chinese sounds similar to good luck (bok). There are many folktales about magpies.
The Chinese called magpies "Birds of Joy" or "Happy Magpies". Under the Manchu dynasty it also represented imperial rule: a few Manchu people in Northeast China even thought they were gods.[2] In the west, though, magpies were often a symbol of pride.[3]
References
- ↑ "Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Magpie in Nature & Myth". Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ↑ J. C. Cooper, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols (1978), p. 102