286 



THE WANDERING PIE. 



ANOTHER and more beautiful member of this group is an Asiatic bird, very com- 

 mon in the naturalist's shop and in glass cases, and known by the popular and very 



appropriate name of the 

 DEKING PIE." 



This bird is a native of the 

 Himalayas, and is found in some 

 numbers spread over a large part 

 of India. It is called the Wander- 

 ing Pie on account of its habit of 

 wandering over a very large extent 

 of country, travelling from place to 

 place and finding its food as it best 

 may, after the fashion of a mendi- 

 cant friar. This custom is quite 

 opposed to the general habits of the 

 Pies, who are remarkable for their 

 attachment to definite localities, and 

 can generally be found wherever the 

 observer has discovered the partic- 

 ular spot which they have selected 

 for their home. Mr. Gould sug- 

 gests that its wandering habit may 

 be occasioned by the necessity for 

 obtaining subsistence, the Wander- 



ing Pie feeding more exclusively on fruits and other vege- 

 table nutriment than is generally the case with the Crow 

 tribe, and being therefore forced to range over a large 

 extent of land in search of its food. Indeed, the short legs 

 and very long tail of this species quite unfit it for seeking 

 its living on the ground, and clearly point out its arboreal 

 habits. 



The shape of this species is very remarkable, on ac- 

 count of the greatly elongated and elegantly shaped tail, 

 which is colored in a manner equally bold with its form. 

 The general color of this bird is blackish-gray upon the 

 upper parts, warming into cinnamon upon the back. The 

 quill-feathers of the wings are jetty -black, the wings them- 

 selves gray, and the tail-feathers gray, with a large, bold 

 bar of black at their extremities. The under surface of 

 the bird is light grayish-fawn. The two central feathers 

 of the tail are extremely long, and the others are grad- 

 uated in a manner which is well exemplified in the accom- 



panying illustration. Although it appears to be a rather large bird, the aspect is a deceptive 

 one, on account of the long tail, which is ten inches in length, the remainder of the head 

 and body being only six inches long. 



