A life cut short

As I was cutting the grass today I found a dead magpie next to the berry bushes. I imagined a cat hiding in the bushes and pouncing out, but I carefully examined the dead bird and could find no loose feathers and no other sign of violence - so the death is a mystery.
Many people dislike these birds but I find them beautiful to look at and fascinating to watch. Like many corvids they are sociable, noisy, adaptable, and love to play.
There's a family living on the edge of our garden and I've been watching the young magpies exploring their world. They featured in my June 15 blip, and I feel a little sad that one of them came to an early end. On that earlier day there were 4 youngsters begging from the two adults, so hopefully there are still three left.
Opportunities are not to be missed so I had a good look at the dead bird and took a few photographs, of which this is a detail. I'd always thought of magpies as black and white birds and was surprised to see how blue some of the feathers are.
The extra shows the whole bird, on the lawn.