Do magpies dip stale bread in water to soften it?

Answer 1

have observed them do this with both dry and fresh bread. It's deliberate. They pick up the bread and fly some distance to our bird bath just so that they can wet the bread thoroughly.

They are the only type of bird I have seen doing this. Other cordids take the bread we put out, but I have only ever seen magpies dip.

I can't tell if it's only one individual that dips the bread, or if they all do.

I hope this answers the question, at least some magpies do dip bread in water. As they do this with fresh bread too, I'm not sure that this is done solely to soften it.

Answer 2

Yes. In our garden (in England) they carry it to the bird bath and drop it in. They wait for while and check to see if it is soft enough to eat. If not, they push it back under water for a while longer until it is to their liking. They sometimes bring crusts from neighbouring gardens to do this.