YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE 169 



tree by walking, hopping, and making short flights. Their legs appeared 

 to be long, and their claws were the chief means of keeping a hold on 

 the bark. When alighting they had diflic.ulty in regaining a balance. 

 Their tails were only 3 or 4 inches long. Not once was one seen on 

 the ground. Their time was spent picking at the limbs, preening their 

 feathers, or just drowsing. At frequent intervals a young magpie would 

 raise both wings and stretch them over its back, partly folded, but would 

 not extend them. 



These young birds were quiet except when a flying bird approached 

 them or they were being fed. During each feeding all the young kept 

 their mouths opened widely while calling. Once one kept its bill widely 

 opened as it flew from one tree to another. On another occasion a young 

 bird flew out 15 or 20 feet to meet an approaching parent, which, how- 

 ever, paid no attention to it but continued on to the tree and fed another 

 one. When a person tested their responses to disturbanc.e by walking 

 over to the tree, at first all the young uttered v/arning notes. After a 

 few minutes they became quiet, and the ones at the nest withdrew into 

 it. One of the other young ones flew to another part of the grove. 

 Parents came, uttered alarm notes, and left. They returned in half 

 an hour and there were more alarm notes. 



In Monterey County a brood of bobtailed young at nest-leaving age 

 was studied early in June. The parents came down to lower limbs 

 within 6 or 8 feet of the intruding person to protest at his presence. 

 Other adults came too. Notes of the adults and young differed con- 

 siderably, the latter being weaker, softer, and higher. After being dis- 

 turbed the young magpies moved into higher parts of the tree. 



Another young bird, watched in early morning, was begging from 

 an adult perched on a wire nearly 10 feet above ground. It crouched 

 with wings quivering, held its bill near the adult's bill, and uttered low 

 notes, but the old bird did not feed it. The youngster then flew down 

 to the ground and foraged for itself. 



An example of communication between adult and young was observed 

 when a young magpie with tail two-thirds grown was handled in a 

 room. Its cries attracted an adult (parent?), which perc.hed on a limb 

 outside the window and squawked long and loudly. Soon after the 

 adult began to call, the young one stopped. The adult flew away. Again 

 the young one called, the adult returned and squawked, and the young 

 one became silent. When the young bird was released outside, the adult 

 perched in a tree overhead, screaming loudly, but made no move. When 

 a person caught the young bird again, however, the adult swooped down 

 at him. 



Plumages. — Plumages and changes of them in the yellow-billed mag- 

 pie seem to be so nearly like those of the black-billed magpie, already 



