What started as a simple DIY project turned into an unexpectedly hilarious wildlife moment.
In an attempt to stop local birds from raiding his cat’s outdoor food bowl, Australian resident Giulio Cuzilla came up with a seemingly foolproof plan: craft a decoy owl to act as a scarecrow and keep the feathered intruders away.
Armed with crafting supplies and determination, Cuzilla created a fierce-looking (at least to him) owl figure and placed it proudly on his porch. But instead of flying off in fear, the local magpies responded in a way no one saw coming.
Checking in on the setup later, Cuzilla was stunned to find the magpies not avoiding the owl — but gathering around it. The birds appeared to be surrounding the decoy in a way that looked suspiciously like reverence.
“I accidentally made a magpie god,” he joked online.
As bizarre as it looked, there’s a more logical explanation. Animal behaviorist Gisela Kaplan told Yahoo News Australia that the magpies weren’t worshipping the owl — they were likely confronting what they thought was a real newcomer in their territory.
“They’re giving warnings, saying, ‘Do you mind? You’re in our territory,’” Kaplan explained. “Some of their calls are just diplomatic niceties indicating, ‘You’re stepping on our turf.’”
Magpies are known for their intelligence and bold personalities, so it’s no surprise that they didn’t fall for Cuzilla’s owl trick. If anything, they were just being neighborly in their own assertive way.
After watching the magpies interact with his handmade guardian, Cuzilla had a change of heart.
“When you see their nature and their funny ways, you can see they’re pretty cute,” he admitted.
Instead of banishing them, he now sees them for what they are — clever, curious, and totally unfazed by a papier-mâché predator.
