Magpie Funeral. *turn sound on* Over the weekend, a magpie was killed by a hawk or owl in the tree outside our research office and a pile of feathers is all that's left. Today, on two occasions we heard a major racket in the tree by 8-9 magpies. At first, we suspected the raptor was back. But after heading out to check, it wasn't. It appears that these birds are returning to "mourn" the loss of their friend/family. This type of funeral behavior is known in crows and other corvids (ravens, crows,