This event occured on the same day as the starling raid. I was in the kitchen of my house when i heard the loudest .....mega loud.....chattering of magpies which led me to investigate. I looked out the back window and saw three magpies at three different points around next doors garden. They were calling very loudly to and fro, first one, then the other. This went on for some minutes then i think my movement disturbed them and they flew off into a nearby tree still keeping up the same noise before flying off. I stayed for quite a while watching the other birds in the garden, then crow swooped in and alighted briefly on a rooftop quite near my window and looked around before taking off into the distance. That made me wonder, as it's the first time crow has come near my garden. Maybe he's after the fledglings i thought. Then i glanced to the right and saw something black and white in the grass in the garden next door. Sure enough it was a magpie lying dead on the ground, probably caught by one of the local cats, for sport - as it seemed completly intact. The magpies came back twice again over the next couple of hours and took up their posts facing inwards towards the dead one, and calling loudly in turns. The second time they had a young one with them - i wondered if it was it's parent that had been killed. The young one was on the roof looked over by two wood pidgeons who seemed to be keeping a respectful distance while watching the proceedings. The whole event
appeared exactly like a funeral wake, with each magpie coming to pay it's last respects to their lost fellow. Early evening saw a huge rainbow arched over the scene and all was quiet..........the magpies spirit had passed.