272 NATURAL HISTORY. 



after the family had returned from church, the rector found 

 his study strewed with pamphlets, torn newspapers, &c., so 

 that until the delinquent was discovered, he really thought 

 that thieves had been in the house. A magpie never seems 

 to be happy unless it possesses a hiding-place, nor did this 

 one form an exception to the general rule, as it had pecked a 

 hole in the thatch of a barn, wherein to dispose its ill-gotten 

 goods, and displayed great uneasiness if anybody approached it. 



Another magpie gained entrance into the chapel of Wadham 

 College, Oxford, and remained quiet enough until the service 

 had begun, when it gravely walked up the centre, bowing and 

 saying, " Pretty Mag ! Pretty Mag !" much to the discomposure 

 of the junior members. A curious story is told respecting the 

 power of the Magpie to count numbers. 



" George Le Roy states that a magpie having stolen some 

 game, it was resolved to shoot it. A man hid himself in a 

 hut near its nest for this purpose. The bird flew away when 

 he entered, nor would return. The next day two men entered 

 and one came out. Mag was not to be cheated; she waited 

 till the second left also. Three went in and two came out, 

 with the same result. Four then entered, and three came 

 away. The bird went back and was shot. So magpies, says 

 George Le Roy, can count three but not four." 



The nest of the Magpie is built on a high tree, and curiously 

 defended with thorns, having only a small hole just large 

 enough to admit the owners, so that the liberal use of a pocket 

 knife is frequently requisite in order to obtain the eggs. The 

 nest is covered with a dome of thorns, respecting which a 

 curiously quaint fable is told. 



" The birds," says the historian, "not knowing how to build 

 nests, went in a body to request the Magpie to teach them. He 

 willingly undertook the office. ' First,' he said, ' you must 

 look out for a good, strong, forked branch, and begin by laying 

 two sticks crosswise.' ' That's just what I did,' said the rook. 

 ' Next, you must raise the sides a little, and then put in some 

 hay, which you must work well into the sticks.' ' The very 

 thing I have been doing,' said the crow. ' Now, for fear the 

 eggs should be broken or thrown out, you must raise the 

 sides about as high as your head when you sit in the bottom 

 of l-i3 noil;, and put in some soft wool.' ' Why,' said the 



