Our adorable CBD magpie
Photo: Kevin Farmer
GEORGE the friendly magpie has become something of a Toowoomba urban legend over the past year - until now.
The Chronicle was able to track down chirpy George during his morning trip for breakfast in Toowoomba’s main street after weeks of tip-offs from members of the public.
Singing on cue, dishing out pecks on the cheek and happily being taken for a stroll down Margaret St on strangers’ arms, George has become the star attraction of the CBD where coffee-shop regulars greet him with food in exchange for a song.
“He sits on the counter and even sat on a cop’s shoulder while he was eating in here not too long ago,” one Margaret St Subway employee told The Chronicle.
George is a little bit larger than many of his fellow species, and with good reason.
The portly magpie regularly feasts on what the city’s best eateries have to offer and is never short of friends on two legs offering him a bite to eat.
His top spots in Margaret St include Subway and Pizza Pie and Co, though he’s also made friends at Joel’s Salon and Kathmandu.
The black and white winged foodie has been a long time customer at one coffee shop in particular, where his singing is proving a hit with customers.
“He has been coming here almost every single morning for the past 18 months,” one employee at Bunker Records said.
“He actually disappeared for about six months but then he turned up again one day.
“He doesn’t seem to get along with other birds as well as he does with humans.”
Rumour has it his go-to coffee order is a latte.