First you scratch the magpie, then the magpie wants to scratch its beak against you in response. People who don't know about corvid hierarchies don't understand why Misha is acting this way.
For corvids it is very strict: those who are stronger and can submit others have higher ranks. Or rather, those who rank higher can submit others. Misha ranks himself very high. The only ones who rank higher are us - those who have the power and audacity to pull out his tail, his legs, grab him, etc. But we also share food with him, which means we're not so bad, even if we rank higher. He accepts it and understands it. He's not afraid of us, and he thinks we have the right to behave like this with him. But other people don't have this right! They give food to Misha because he ranks higher than them (so he thinks). After all, he is backed up by us. And petting a corvid from above, making it bend over, is a display of dominance. So Misha thinks someone is trying to demote him from his position of Senior Magpie. He can't stand such insolence, so he fights back and curses at them. And he comes out victorious, as the cheeky petters start yelling, hide their hands and surrender. Flawless victory!
So there you have it. We find such silly scenes adorable.
Don't forget to ask questions!
Here is yesterday's question:
"alex.b
22 hours ago
How did you get your first pet reptile, and what was it?"
Answer:
Strange as it is, I got my first reptile back in 2016.
Yes, when I was a kid, I used to catch viviparous lizards and keep them in jars during summer time, but I always let them go in the end. At some point I bought a grass snake at a pet fair, kept it in a jar for a few days, then took it to the countryside and released it there. So this doesn't count.
My first terrarium pets were a Mexican red rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans) and some horned frogs, back in 1998-1999, but before then I used to work with terrarium animals kept at our school, including snakes, rare tortoise species, monitors, geckos and even a small caiman (I think). That was also where I first saw leopard geckos and fat-tailed geckos. Back then they were very rare pets in Russia. I was stunned by their huge eyes.
And so, in 2016, when Maria Markina let me take 4 large tanks and a baby bearded dragon that eventually became Pancake, I knew I wanted to get me some fat-tails.
Therefore, Pancake (a.k.a. Succade) became my first pet reptile. Markina bought her together with other bearded dragons, of which she kept one and sold the rest. I got Pancake.
And soon after, I got a male fat-tailed gecko, brought to me by Andrey Zagorinsky, who found it in the basement of some institute.
To be continued in a pinned comment.