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Re: London tourist takes injured magpie home to Edinburgh
A tourist was so concerned about an injured magpie in London she took it home - all the way to Edinburgh on a train.
The pensioner discovered the fledgling being attacked by crows in the Kilburn area and took him in as he was too young to feed himself.
The bird lover was still concerned for the magpie when she was due to return to Scotland and decided to take him on the train in her handbag.
She contacted SPCA and the bird was taken to their National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Clackmannanshire.
The lady from Edinburgh, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "The magpie was very traumatized when I found him.
"I knew he was too young to feed himself so I took him in and began hand-feeding him. I even nicknamed him 'Pie'.
"When I was due to leave he still wasn't self-feeding, so I cleared out my handbag and popped him inside.
"I don't think anyone on the train realized I had a baby magpie with me.
"My family have always looked after birds and I initially thought Pie wouldn't survive, which was really upsetting.
"People have always said I'm eccentric and I'm sure they'd think that even more so if they knew about this.
"I'm so happy to hear he's been released and I'm very grateful to the Scottish SPCA for helping him, they've done a fantastic job."
Centre manager Colin Seddon said, "Usually we advise people to leave fledglings alone, but in this case the magpie was being attacked by other birds and had sustained injuries.
"We'd recommend anyone who finds a bird in need of help to contact an animal rescue organization such as ourselves for advice and assistance.
"While it was certainly unusual to take the magpie on the train, this lady had taken very good care of him and it's clear she must care a great deal about birds.
"The magpie made a fantastic recovery and it was wonderful to release him back into the wild fit and healthy after his rather long journey."
