Magpie

Is it me, or is the old rhyme unwontedly pessimistic? I see solitary magpies all the time, plural pretty much never. Is that typical?

A quick web search suggests that the bad luck associated with a single bird is a consequence of them pairing for life -- seeing one solo was unusual and therefore an ill omen.

Well, maybe.

Perhaps our wicked city, always notorious as a sink of vice and promiscuity, is inimical to the rural tradition of magpie fidelity. They've become a flock of individualist sluts, cruising the treetops for a quick shag, whispering insincere sweet nothings and swapping numbers with no intent to call.

Or perhaps they're always alone here because they just can't find the right mate? You know, because the good ones are always either taken or gay...

But that coupling explanation sounds pretty questionable to me. I find it more plausible to imagine that superstition associates a common sighting with misery because, let's face it, most people's lives were pretty fucking miserable back in the day. Sorrow sounds like a safe bet -- it would make sense to match the modal omen with the most common outcome. What, the sun rose today? Oh dear, better prepare for the worst.

No, I haven't a point to make. Still, it's annoying to be constantly beset by portents of doom, albeit I only even know of them as such from the theme song to an ancient children's TV programme of my youth...
Posted by matt at October 25, 2006 10:17 PM