THE MAGPIE. 



125 



enough foundation. So they set to work and brought sticks, literally by 

 hundreds, until they had piled them up high enough to reach a landing, and 

 there they placed the nest. 



The labour of bringing such quantities of sticks was immense. 



Like the rook, the jackdaw wears a suit of black, but he is smaller than 

 his solemn relation. His voice is shrill, and he can be taught to imitate the 

 human voice, and talk almost like a parrot. He lives on pretty much the 

 same food as the crows, and will eat almost anything. And, like them., he 

 carries food home for his young ones under the tongue. 



He is a most amusing pet, and his droll doings are without end. He likes 

 to find out everything, even how io light lucifer matches. A tame jackdaw 

 once took immense pains to perform this feat properly. When the family 

 were gone to bed this was his favourite pastime. He had taken care to 

 pick them up whenever he could find them, and having burnt himself 

 severely, and lighted the kitchen fire in the middle of the night, he con- 

 sidered himself perfect in the art. But it was a dangerous game to play, 



and a stop was soon put to it. 



THE MAGPIE. 



The magpie, like the raven and the jackdaw, is not very honest, and he has 

 a great deal of cunning. He is, however, extremely handsome ; his bill and 

 his feet are black, with a shade of bluish purple. There are patches of white 

 about him, both on the shoulder and under the body. His tail is very long, 

 and shines with green and purple, there being a band of purple near the end 

 of each feather, and the tip is blue and deep green. 



He is a very sociable bird, and can easily be tamed. There is, however, 

 the same objection to a tame magpie as to a tame raven — his love of stealing. 

 Many a trinket has been snatched from a lady's toilet-table by a tame magpie 

 and securely hidden away in his nest. What use these stolen goods can be 

 to him, as he does not wear either rings or bracelets, is a question not easily 

 answered. But he is not always content with this kind of booty. 



On a fine day he may be seen walking in the same way as the rook. 



