Two children are at risk of losing their sight after a rogue magpie left them with severe eye injuries.
The attacks took place in Perth last weekend, and has led to calls for the magpie to be exterminated.
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Four-year-old Indi and five-year-old Finn were at Clarko Reserve in the beachside suburb of Trigg when the avian attacker swooped down from the sky and went for their faces.
Each child was wounded in their right eye, with the extent of the damage unable to be determined. Finn described the bird as "naughty" after the incident.
"They had operations to repair the iris and corneas of their right eyes," Australia's 7Plus news reports, adding the "same magpie is being blamed for the savage attacks".
And in another serious event at the same park, the magpie "nailed" a five-year-old girl named Sophie. Her mother says the bird narrowly missed her daughter's eye - then came back for a second go.
"I'm so grateful that it wasn't the eye, only a few tiny scratches underneath and a kid that's now terrified of magpies," she wrote on Facebook.
Wildlife experts warn children are particularly at risk of drawing attention as they run around shrieking and screaming. They become easy targets for the ferocious birds, which swoop in on their victims.
"They're quite large birds with sharp beaks and their way of defending the nest is to fly at what they perceive is the danger and go for the eyes," biologist Bill Bateman told Perth Now.
"Magpies also get very irate by bikes... the radius of attack from a tree is much bigger if a bike goes past, they don't like them."
Finn's mother says she wants serious consequences for the aggressive magpie.
"It's difficult to say this but because of the viciousness of the attacks and the long-term consequences that the kids face, I think it's time the rangers took more extreme action," she told The West Australian.
City of Stirling parks and sustainability manager Ian Hunter agrees and says the council will apply to eradicate the bird.
"After assessing events over the weekend, the City has determined that recent magpie attacks at Clarko Reserve have been ongoing and of a serious nature, and will apply to DBCA for a dangerous fauna licence to remove the offending bird," Mr Hunter said in a statement.
Newshub.
