Victorian man violently attacked by swooping magpie in Sale

A Victorian man was forced to undergo emergency surgery after being violently attacked in the eyes by a swooping magpie in the state's east.

James Glindemann was eating at a bench outside a Sale shopping centre when the magpie swooped him on Tuesday just after 1pm.

Mr Glindemann, aged in his 60s, was flown to a Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital for surgery following the bloody attack.

"I was sitting at the mall and the bird came and flew beside me. I made a conversation with it and it took my food ... and the next thing I knew it had flown into my face," he told 9News.

"It had actually penetrated the eyelid, and it was bleeding from there."

READ MORE: Cow found stuck on trampoline in South Gippsland as dozens escape

Doctors remain confident he will be able to regain his eyesight despite his vision in both eyes being blurred.

"I tried to look in the mirror to see what the damage was, and I couldn't see anything ... with difficulty I dialled triple-zero," he said.

The magpie penetrated the man's cornea in his left eye. But his right eye was mostly unscathed, with the area around it just inflamed.

There have been a number of swooping attacks in the same area this year, according to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning's (DELP) Swooping Bird Map.

Mr Glindermann is calling for the bird to be removed from the popular dining area and for warning signs to be put in place.