This is the moment a thieving magpie shows off its uncanny acting skills as it plays dead to escape a strawberry farmer’s wrath.
The greedy bird had been found raiding the farmer’s greenhouses in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
But then fruit grower Mr Fang called out to scare it away, the bird fell flat on its back with its legs in the air as if it had dropped dead.
Baffled, Mr Fang began filming the bird on his phone.
But when he gets too close – as this footage shows – the magpie burst back into life and flew away.
He later shared the video of the scheming magpie on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
Netizens were apparently amazed by the bird’s theatrics.
User ‘Lop rabbit on the moon’ said: “Wow, I thought it was really dead, it pretended too much.”
And user ‘water water water’ wrote: “This is the first time I have ever seen a bird that pretends to be dead.”
The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (Pica pica) is a bird most commonly found in the northern part of the Eurasian continent.
It is easily recognizable for its black and white feathers and purple-, green-, and blue-streaked wings.
The common magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and even one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet.
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Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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