Did you hear that, Hitchcock? Or you, Rossini?

When we think of animal attacks on cyclists, most of us think of dogs before anything else, don’t we? In some regions, I suppose you’d need to keep an eye out for cougars. Or even bears!

But attack birds? Oh, yes; with potentially tragic consequences.

I had never thought about magpies acting like attack birds. As a matter of fact, I generally don’t think of magpies. There aren’t any where I live.

Mockingbirds will swoop at cats and dogs. Many a time I’ve seen one chasing a crow through the air. Mockingbirds will even swoop at people. I had one diving at my head once, and I supposed there was a young nearby. Sure enough, “Junior” started to cry for food about then.

This was long before I began riding, which is a good thing. I heard the swoosh of wings several times before I finally caught sight of the bird, and it was a bit unnerving. Maybe that’s what happened in the case of that poor man in Australia; all the more as the magpie is a big bird.

So did you hear that, Hitchcock? When you’re out for a ride, don’t forget to Beware of the Birds.