HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



153 



At last, after creeping through various holes, we 

 came to the spiders, and forgot the silence and the 

 low roof in the excitement of hunting them out. I 

 did not notice any insects in the webs, but Mr. 

 Morison has found the remains of some of the 

 Tineina. I saw several individuals of apparently 

 some species of Poduridce, creeping about the walls, 

 but did not succeed in securing any specimens. 1, 

 however, brought away a lew of the Neriene, which 

 I afterwards presented to the British Museum. 

 E. Buchanan AViiite, M.D. 



ENGLISH. MOCKING-BIRDS. 



A RAMBLE through the wood at this par- 

 ticular season of the year carries one back to 

 the days of boyhood, when we listened with delight 

 to the cuckoo ; and very many of us can look back 

 with joy to the days when we hunted the wood in 

 quest of birdsnests, stick in hand, knocking at the 

 trunk of every tree that happened to have hay or 

 hair attached. 



Whatever may be the difference of opinion, there 

 is certainly a charm not to be forgotten— our boyish 

 delight would not allow us time to consider whether 

 it was cruel to rob the old birds of their young. 

 Away we go merrily, tap, tap, echo, echo ; what's 

 that— a nest? yes 'tis one, a nest; up we go, must 

 have it. Our expectation is raised to the highest, no 

 danger will stop us ; although a break-neck chance, 

 up we go ; after much climbing and slipping and 

 •' hairbreadth 'scapes " the nest is reached ; but, 

 alas, all in vain ; it is an old one, so after a day's toil 

 and pleasure we, having taken nothing, determine 

 to have another day ; but in the mean time we pur- 

 chase a queer-looking bird, bill and legs long, no 

 tail (but he soon will have one), pink capacious 

 mouth, body black and white. 



The recollection of this bird suggests a thought ; 

 how many mocking-birds does this country pro- 

 duce ? 



Eor not only have many of our birds the power 

 of imitating each other, but are really good mocking- 

 birds, of course inferior to the grey parrot of Africa ; 

 but equal, and more so, surpassing the crested 

 and pert-looking cockatoo, which makes a great 

 noise, and has but little to say ; and for beauty of 

 feather our mocking-birds are not surpassed ; for 

 cunningness they are often a match for man. Take 

 for instance the beautiful magpie — the intelligent 

 eye, superb plumage, shining with so many hues, 

 and handsome symmetry ; but perhaps the most en- 

 chanting of all is the perfect cunningness displayed 

 in its every movement : even sitting still seems 

 mischief, every step seems bent upon some rascality, 

 and when actually enjoying himself, we get the 

 most amusing mischief one could coin; monkey- 

 like, but so much more refined. 



Wood, in "My Feathered Friends," says, "There 

 is a green pan placed by the side of the door, which 

 he considers as his own property ; after the milkman 

 has furnished the quantity required by the house, 

 he pours a few spoonfuls into the pan for Mag. 

 Mag is grateful for the kindness, and usually escorts 

 the man as far as the door. After the gate is shut, 

 he thinks the obligations of hospitality satisfied, 

 and peeps underneath to see if there is any chance 

 of pecking anybody's ankles. For he has a great 

 predilection for ankles. If a female visitor is hardy 

 enough to take a seat in the kitchen, Mag is de- 

 lighted : he hides himself under the chair and then, 

 watching his opportunity, administers a severe peck 

 to the ankles; the aggrieved party jumps up, but 

 sees nothing, for Mag takes good care to keep him- 

 self out of view." 



All this is but a tithe of his mischief, as those well 

 know who have been so fortunate as to have kept 

 a tame magpie not in captivity. Not only for his mis- 

 chievousness is he worthy of notice, he is capable 

 of great attachment, following you about like a dog, 

 feeding from the hand. And in a garden he is 

 most useful, destroying a host of insects and keep- 

 ing the ground free from small birds ; so as a 

 watcher he might be prized by many, for he is al- 

 ways on the alert, seemingly proud of his charge, 

 fearless of every thing, even making sport of the 

 cats. 



I have seen puss walking off as though she did 

 not see Mag, who is strutting after her with his 

 tail erect only looking out for the chance to catch 

 hold of her tail — a feat which he mostly accom- 

 plished. Now puss would stop, Mag the same ; puss 

 makes a move, Mag follows ; now a chance occurs, 

 Mag gets hold of the cat's tail, and before puss gets 

 round the rascal mounts the fence and sits there 

 wagging his tail, eyeing puss coolly and cunningly, 

 as though he had been there an hour ; the cat is now 

 allowed to slink oil while Mag seeks some fresh 

 sport. 



There is a great flourish to his oddities : he is a 

 fine mocking-bird, being capable of speaking many 

 words, and very plainly too ; equally as comprehen- 

 sible as the African parrot, but of course not able 

 to manage so many. 



I might here mention that Mag is not difficult to 

 teach, and very little trouble to rear; in fact he is 

 hardy, only requiring a little raw meat and other 

 soft food. As soon as Mag can feed himself, you 

 may leave the door of his cage open ; he will then 

 get about, and soon be strong enough to defy all 

 domestic pets. 



A short time ago, while rambling through the 

 woods, I found a beautiful mocking-bird, dead of 

 course. How many of these birds are destroyed by 

 men who rarely trouble themselves about natural 

 history ; scarcely caring to be able to distinguish 

 one bird from another, having no why or wherefore, 



