How to avoid magpie attacks: Try making friends with them

THIS animal is known for terrorising Australians at barbecues, but experts now say they are capable of forming long friendships like dogs.

Magpies can recognise human faces and will not swoop if they know and like you. Picture: Supplied.

THE key to avoid being attacked by magpies is to make an effort to be friends with them.

Swooping magpies are common in Australia at this time of year, as male birds attempt to protect eggs and chicks in their nests from predators, reports the ABC.

Official government websites give tips to avoid being swooped and a crowdsourced online map, Magpie Alert, tracks reports of swooping magpies nationwide.

If you want to avoid being attacked by magpies, just make an effort to be friends with them.\Picture: AFP.

Some people go to great lengths to deter magpies from swooping, wearing fake eyes on the back of their head to fool the birds into thinking they are being watched.

But a magpie “will only swoop when he doesn’t know somebody”, said Gisela Kaplan, emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England and author of Bird Minds.

“We know that magpies remember and recognise human faces and they will remember them for years,” Dr Kaplan told ABC.

Dr Kaplan said that once a magpie knew you and judged you to be a nice person, you would have earned a friend for life.

“They will form very long friendships, like dogs,” she said.