Father laughs as son on scooter is savagely 'swooped' by magpie

Spring is among us, and so is the natural horror that is swoopy season, as magpies circle in the sky awaiting their next victim.

But one little boy has experienced an aerial attack that trumps all magpie-based altercations.

Max Sherwood was riding his scooter down a suburban street in the coastal NSW town of Wollongong, while his father Wayne filmed the humble moment.

RELATED: Don't fear the swooper: How to dodge magpie attacks this spring

But as Max made his way down the path, an aggressive magpie emerged from the skies and repeatedly 'swooped' as he tried to escape.

Screaming in horror, Max ducked as he continued to ride down the path, while the relentless magpie trailed after him.

Max is filmed attempting to speed up his scooter, hitting the pavement, but is not quick enough to out manoeuvre the magpie assailant.

The boy even attempts to duck beneath the handlebars on his scooter to no luck, while the magpie continuously dives onto him.

While his son screams hysterically, Max's father attempts to soothe his son, between fits of laughter.

Posting the video to Instagram, Wayne Sherwood captioned the terrifying video: "Australia is beautiful but our native birds are killers. They'll eat your kids alive. Beware."

Sherwood's video was re-posted by comedy Instagram page Brown Cardigan, where it garnered over 663,000 views.

"Love that Magpie season lines up perfectly with school holidays. Mother nature is so beautiful like that," commented one user.

"This just brings back painful memories from primary school," mourned another.

Swooping season is considered a staple to Australia's transition into spring, as the avian menaces emerge to wreak havoc on people across the country.

However, while many Australian's can probably recall a traumatic moment with a magpie, the Australian Academy of Science says only one in 20 male magpies will swoop to protect their incubating mates, and eight out of ten people in magpie territory will never get swooped.

The Academy also revealed magpies "remember faces" and getting closer to them may help prevent an unnecessary attack.

Magpies tend to swoop for about six weeks as their mate incubates the eggs and while the chicks are very young.

People are encouraged to document their experiences with "swooping" online at Magpie Alert, Australia's peak body for reporting magpie attacks.

RELATED: Victorian boy left bleeding after 'insane' magpie attack