Mine’s a pint!

Reporter: Gillian Potts
Date published: 22 July 2014


NEVER mind Woodpecker Cider, it seems magpie bitter is now further up the pecking order.

This magpie lived up to its "thieving" reputation when it flew in to watch a game of bowls at Royton Cricket Club.

The bird spent two hours during a match between Royton Cricket Club and Delph Bowling Club landing on people’s heads, hands, shoulders and knees before finally pulling up a perch and enjoying a slurp of beer.

Amused bowlers and spectators fed it biscuits and it also swooped in for a sip of lager.

Delph bowler Peter Guilfoyle, who snapped the magpie in action, said: "It just flew down from the scoreboard and wouldn’t go away. We thought its leg was damaged at first but it turned out just to be after the beer and biscuits!

"It landed on my head at one point and scared me to death. It did perform other tricks as well and stayed for the full duration of the match.

"Bird watching took a whole new meaning and was in fact more interesting than the games on the green.

"I believe it’s been seen around when the cricket’s been on before but none of the Royton bowlers had seen it. It’s only a young one so how it got so tame I don’t know.

"One thing’s for sure it certainly had a taste for bitter."