Nifflers and real-life collectors

'The Niffler is a British beast. Fluffy, black and long snouted, this burrowing creature has a predilection for anything glittery. Nifflers are often kept by goblins to burrow deep into the earth for treasure. Though the Niffler is gentle and even affectionate, it can be destructive to belongings and should never be kept in a house. Nifflers live in lairs up to twenty feet below the surface and produce six to eight young in a litter.'
– Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them™

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Stolen goods

Newt's mischievous Niffler broke into a jewellery store in New York to steal some irresistibly shiny items. It is not clear why Nifflers are driven to collect sparkly objects.

Nifflers on the loose

Need to recover an escaped Niffler? Newt's assistant Bunty dangled a shiny object from a glove to tempt a baby Niffler into her palm.

She then safely returned the creature to its treasure-filled basket.

Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)

Just like Nifflers, magpies have a reputation for stealing shiny objects. But a recent study may have proven magpies innocent. When presented with piles of shiny and non-shiny objects, magpies showed little interest and instead appeared afraid of new, unfamiliar things.

Curious collectors

Many different animals do collect things, though. Some gather materials to build a nest or home, or to store food. Others create displays of colourful items in order to impress a potential mate.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

To nesting Adélie penguins, pebbles are highly prized items. They collect as many stones as possible, piling them up to build their nest.

Amazing ability
Piling up stones to help prevent their nest from flooding

Where to find them
Raising chicks in coastal areas of Antarctica and surrounding islands

Some Adélies take stones from their neighbours, but they run the risk of a sharp peck or a flipper-bash.

Bone-house wasp (Deuteragenia ossarium)

As you might guess from its name, this wasp collects something a little more gruesome than flowers or pebbles. The female bone-house wasp gathers dead ants to seal the end of its nesting hole.

Scientists think the corpses make the nest smell like an ant colony, camouflaging it from predators.

Amazing ability
Collecting dead ants to disguise their nest

Where to find them
Buzzing through forests in south-eastern China

Satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)

Feathers, flowers, shells – even buttons and bottle tops – feature in this bird's treasure trove.

To attract a mate, a male gathers colourful objects to decorate its bower, a tunnel-like structure made from sticks. When a female appears, a male will perform a dance while holding a favourite object in its beak.

Amazing ability
Decorating and appreciating all things colourful

Where to find them
The forests of eastern Australia

Blue objects are particularly popular with satin bowerbirds. As blue is a rare colour in nature, this suggests that males who find lots of blue objects are perceived to be skilled, good-quality mates.