asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the estimated number of magpies in the United Kingdom in the years 1965, 1966, 1982 and 1983.

My department does not keep wild bird population statistics. However, from the common bird census carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology each year it is estimated that the magpie population has increased by about a third over the past 20 years. The BTO's Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland estimated the 1976 population to be over 250,000 pairs.