The Eurasian magpie / common magpie (Pica pica) prefix mag dates from the 16th century and comes from the short form of the given name Margaret, which was once used to mean women in general (as Joe or Jack is used for men today); the pie's call was considered to sound like the idle chattering of women, and so it came to be called the Mag-pie. "Pie" as a term for the bird dates to the 13th century, and the word pied, first recorded in 1552, became applied to other birds that resembled the magpie in having black-and-white plumage. It is one of the most intelligent birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals. It is the only bird known to pass the mirror test, along with very few other non-avian species.
