White backed magpie in blackbacked magpie area?

So I’m in Canberra where our magpies are all of the subspecies that only has a white band on their neck, and not the white back that is predominant in other areas of the country

Or so I thought.

On my commute to work along a particular street, there have been a number of times that I have seen a magpie (the same one I think) with the white back. It seems to have family or a mate with the white band only.

I’m assuming it’s a recessive gene and there was some interbreeding along the way, but would love anyone else’s insight or knowledge about this.

It’s the only white backed magpie that I have personally seen.

Posted Jul 4, 2025, 1:35 AM UTC

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