10 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



of the continent, with a back quite white. What interests us 

 most at the moment is its utiHty in the order of things. 



"Fifty birds devouring 140 grasshoppers each in a week 

 would account for 7,000 insects. Supposing on a meagre 

 estimate a grasshopper would eat a square inch of grass-blade 

 per day, then the farmer w^ould have 7,000 square inches of 

 grass for his stock which would not have remained his but 

 for the Magpie. So the service rendered by this much-abused 

 insectivorous bird is quite incalculable."— £'w!^, vol. i., part 1, 

 p. 15 (1901). 



During certain times, as when the seed grain is in the 

 ground, the " 'Pies " are not in favour with every cereal- 

 grower, but that they destroy the prospect of a crop at such 

 time is not substantiated by actual experience. That they do 

 some harm is incontrovertible, as evidence many stomachs 

 full of grain. At the same time that these minor pilferings 

 undeservedly blacken the Magpie's fair fame, the fact is lost 

 sight of that soft-bodied, injurious vermin are very much 

 reduced in number. 



For eleven months of the year the bird is indispensable 

 to the grower, doing what other birds never do, and 

 eventually adding its quota to the handsome results the 

 quality of the ground, with a minimum of pests, has given. 

 But for the Magpies the cleaning of our grounds would 

 periodically cost us heavy sums, and like the " whin," 

 when let alone for years, the amount would rather shock 

 us when the evil day could no longer be staved off. 



Something of this handsome bird might be said with 

 advantage in a homely way. It appears that in captivity 

 Magpies show an aversion to anyone who has annoyed 

 them, as well as to anyone who looks like the person who 

 has annoyed them. The voice of the offending person is 

 quite sufficient to agitate the bird and cause it to rush 

 post haste towards its tormentor to wreak a terrible 



