MAGPIE, 31 



is carefully carried clear of the ground. Like other crows, its 

 usual gait is a walk, but when attracted by food or any special 

 object it hops quickly sideways with wings just open. The fond- 

 ness of all its family for bright objects is well known ; a Magpie 

 in St. James's Park, which I was assured was a wild bird, hopped 

 along the railings towards me, and tried to wrest from my 

 fingers a shilling which I proffered. In game-preserving areas 

 the bird, owing to incessant persecution, is shy and rare, but in 

 London and the outskirts of the large manufacturing towns it is 

 common ; indeed, where it is not molested it courts rather than 

 avoids the vicinity of man. In winter it becomes gregarious, 

 wandering and feeding in small parties or flocks, and gathering 

 at a common rendezvous to roost at night. Early in the year 

 large numbers collect together for mating. Darwin refers to 

 these " marriage " meetings, and Mr. F. J. Stubbs has described 

 the nuptial display during several of these meetings, at one of 

 which 200 birds were present. The males rapidly raised and 

 depressed their crests, uplifted, opened and closed their tails 

 like fans, and conversed in soft tones quite distinct from their 

 usual chatter. In the display the loose feathers of the flanks 

 were brought over and hid the primaries, and the patch on the 

 shoulders was spread so as to make the white conspicuous, 

 presumably to attract the female eye. Short buoyant flights 

 and chases were part of the courtship. 



No animal food comes amiss to the Magpie ; young birds and 

 eggs, small mammals and insects are devoured, but acorns, 

 grain and other vegetable substances are not despised. Lilford 

 tells, on apparently reliable though second-hand evidence, how 

 a number of Magpies attacked and killed a saddle-sore donkey 

 and started to devour the body. The weather was hard at the 

 time, and the wound was on the animal's back, where a dig 

 from the strong beak of the bird might easily injure the spine. 



Tall trees are selected by the Magpie for its bulky nest ; it is 

 usually firmly attached to a central fork in the upper branches. 



