Magpie steals wedding ring from Swedish home in unusual theft
A woman in Höganäs, southern Sweden, reported an unusual theft after a magpie flew into her home and snatched her gold wedding ring from a table. The incident occurred on Wednesday as the 45-year-old woman was preparing lunch, according to Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD).
The woman had removed her ring and placed it on the table before cooking. A magpie entered through an open window, grabbed the ring, and flew away. Despite filing a police report, authorities have declined to investigate the matter. Ilta-Sanomat reports that police spokesperson Jimmy Modin confirmed the report but stated that no crime would be pursued.
"We do not intend to investigate the matter further. However, we have a description of the ring and hope that it will be found," Modin told HD.
Magpies and shiny objects: Fact vs. legend
The theft has drawn attention to the long-standing belief that magpies are attracted to shiny objects. Ilta-Sanomat notes that folklore often portrays magpies as collectors of glittering items, but scientific research challenges this notion.
In 2012, Helsingin Sanomat addressed the question in its children’s science section, citing studies that found little evidence of magpies hoarding shiny objects. Toni Laaksonen, a professor at the University of Turku’s Department of Biology, explained that extensive nest surveys in Finland revealed minimal metal or shiny items.
"Recently, over 500 magpie nests were studied in Jyväskylä, and none of them contained anything shiny. In Pori, around 700 magpie nests were examined, and only a couple of nests near industrial areas contained metal objects," Laaksonen wrote.
Despite the rarity of such incidents, the woman’s ring remains missing. Yle reports that while the police will not investigate, they have documented the ring’s description in case it is recovered.