214 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



diminish in number in one locality and increase in 

 another is not surprising. Like the Carrion Crow, 

 an outlaw, the Magpie is constantly harassed in all 

 places where game is preserved. In the breeding 

 time every nest is marked, and the parents and 

 young, if possible, destroyed. The persistent use 

 of traps and poison in the winter would speedily 

 complete the work of annihilation if the Magpie 

 were a bird of less intelligence and resource. But 

 he soon appears to grasp the situation, and abandon- 

 ing the fields and coverts of the countryside, he seeks 

 refuge in small pheasantless domains in close 

 proximity to the towns, where, in many cases, his 

 beauty and sprightliness render him a welcome 

 guest, and where his small misdemeanours may be 

 readily overlooked. 



The destructive character of the ]Magpie, especi- 

 ally where eggs and young game-birds are con- 

 cerned, cannot be gainsaid, and his instinct in dis- 

 covering hidden prey is at times uncanny in its 

 omniscience. After shooting an outlying field, I 

 once concealed two dead rabbits in the cavities of a 

 rough stone wall, a hundred yards apart, placing 

 stones upon them so that no vestige of their fur 

 could be seen. At the time no Magpie was in sight, 

 but on returning half an hour later, I saw the black 

 and white wings drooping across the meadow. In 

 each case the stones had been thrust aside, and 

 the eves of the rabbits carefully extracted. 



The ^Magpie's nest as a defensive stronghold 

 could not well be improved upon. It is dome-shaped, 

 and built amidst the densely growing but thinner 

 branches of the tree, the hole by which the bird 



