This magpie looks like it's about to ask for your lunch money.

The magpie stared at me with an intensity that felt almost personal. Its black-and-white feathers gleamed under the midday sun, a contrast against the earthy ground and scattered green shoots around it. I couldn’t help but admire its bold stance—it seemed to own the space it occupied with an unapologetic certainty. A cyclist passing by startled it for a moment, but it quickly regained composure, tilting its head as if analyzing whether I posed any threat. There’s something both amusing and humbling about being evaluated by a bird. For a brief moment, I felt like an intruder in its domain, a guest in a world ruled by simpler yet sharper instincts.