A man built an owl out of paper mache to scare magpies away from his home - but they ended up worshipping it.

Giulio Cuzzilla, 30, created the owl after magpies kept eating the food he was leaving outside for his pet cat.

After seeing that the fake owl models from his local hardware store were too expensive, he decided to craft one of his own.

But instead of having the effect he was hoping for, the magpies actually took a liking to the model - and appeared to be serenading it.

Giulio, from Sydney, Australia, said: "The magpies were becoming a problem as they would constantly come and eat all of my cat's food before she had a chance to.

"So after seeing that the pre-made models in the hardware store were too expensive, I decided to make one of my own."

It took Giulio about half an hour to construct the model, which he made with feathers, cardboard, newspaper, masking tape and glue- all for around $10.

When he placed it outside, it seemed to do the trick and the magpies were nowhere to be seen.

But then Giulio woke up one morning to find that, not only had the magpie's returned, but they seemed to be in awe of his home-made owl.

Giulio, who works in retail, said: "I just woke up and saw them singing to the owl. It looked as if they were praising it.

"That's when I knew I had to film it. It was so unreal. I was in shock - disbelief even."

Since then, the owl has deteriorated with the weather, but Giulio has since come to appreciate the birds he once wanted to get rid of.

He said: "They still come around and I feed them now.

"They are such lovely creatures, and through all of my trying to get rid of them, I've learned to love and accept them.

"They are actually fascinating creatures, very intelligent, but also very mischievous."