h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does anybody know why magpies are named after a woman or have any information about the woman?
We have a pair of magpies living near our house, they've brought up a couple of chicks this year. Does anybody know the usual number of chicks in a clutch for magpies?

Thanks, Farrago

I've seen one web site which said that between five and eight chicks was a typical number.

I don't know why magpies have mag for Margaret in their names, but the same sort of thing happens in the names 'Jackdaw' and 'Tomtit'.

Jenny Wren was a common name for wrens, and I've recently discovered that Robins were originally called Redbreasts, and then they started being called Robin Redbreast. Robin here is a boy's name (an informal form of Robert). It was only later that the name Robin came to mean the bird itself.