Magpies reportedly build nest using scrap metal

[February 24, 2009]  HONG KONG (AP) -- Even the magpies are trying to blend in in the metal and concrete jungle that is Hong Kong.

News reports said that a pair of common magpies built a nest on a tree in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun district using scrap metal twigs believed to have been collected from a nearby construction site.

The Sunday Morning Post reported the metal nest was discovered after some of the twigs started falling off the tree and hitting pedestrians.

The Apple Daily newspaper reported Sunday government officials taped the nest together on Saturday but left it in the tree.

The newspaper published a photo showing a local resident carrying a jar filled with the dozens of short metal twigs that had fallen off the tree.

[Associated Press]

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