Colophon

The animal on the cover of Stream Processing with Apache Spark is the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica). It is found throughout northern Europe and Asia, ranging from Spain and Ireland all the way to the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeast Russia. In English, “magpie” refers to the Eurasian magpie, although there are variations on this member of the crow family all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and North America.

Both male and female European magpies have striking plumage. The belly and shoulders are bright white in contrast to the glossy black head, breast, and wings. These black areas shimmer with a gloss of blue or green depending on the light. The male magpie is 17 to 18 inches in length (about half of which is the tail) and has a wingspan of 20 to 24 inches; the female is slightly smaller. Magpies generally avoid humans, but you may be able to hear their loud, chattering call.

The Eurasian magpie is omnivorous. It will feed on insects, carrion, small mammals, and even the chicks and eggs of other birds as well as acorns, grains, and seeds. It is among the most intelligent of all animals, with cognitive abilities like those found in great apes: tool use, memory, reasoning, and social interaction. These traits led to a number of superstitions regarding magpies. European and Scandinavian cultures associate these birds with thievery and even witchcraft. By contrast, in Asia, they are associated with good fortune and the arrival of guests.

Although the Eurasian magpie population is widespread and thriving, many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered. All of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is a color illustration is by Karen Montgomery, based on a black and white engraving from Meyers Kleines Lexicon. The cover fonts are Gilroy Semibold and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.