Cbap. 59.] THE MAGPIE. 523 



a ring of red around the neck. It will duly salute an em- 

 peror, and pronounce the words it has heard spoken ; it is 

 rendered especially frolicsome under the influence of wine. 

 Its head is as hard as its beak ; and this, when it is being 

 taught to talk, is beaten with a rod of iron, for otherwise it 

 is quite insensible to blows. When it lights on the ground it 

 falls upon its beak, and by resting upon it makes itself all 

 the lighter for its feet, which are naturally weak. 



CHAP. 59. THE PIE WHICH FEEDS ON ACORNS. 



The magpie is much less famous for its talking qualities than 

 the parrot, because it does not come from a distance, and yet 

 it can speak with much more distinctness. These birds love 

 to hear words spoken which they can utter ; and not only do 

 they learn them, but are pleased at the task ; and as they con 

 them over to themselves with the greatest care and attention, 

 make no secret of the interest they feel. It is a well-known 

 fact, that a magpie has died before now, when it has found itself 

 mastered by a difiicult word that it could not pronounce. 

 Their memory, however, will fail them if they do not from 

 time to time hear the same word repeated ; and while they are 

 trying to recollect it, they will show the most extravagant joy, 

 if they happen to hear it. Their appearance, although there 

 is notliing remarkable in it, is by no means plain ; but they 

 have quite sufficient beauty in their singular ability to imitate 

 the human speech. 



It is said, however, that it is only the kind^^ of pie which 

 feeds upon acorns that can be taught to speak; and that 

 among these, those which ^^ have five toes on each foot can be 

 taught with the greatest facility ; but in their case even, only 

 during the first two years of their life. The magpie has a 

 broader tongue than is usual with most other birds ; Avhich 

 is the case also with all the other birds that can imitate the 

 human voice ; although some individuals of almost every kind 

 have the faculty of doing so. 



Agrippina, the wife of Claudius Coesar, had a thrush that 

 could imitate human speech, a thing that was never known 

 before. At the moment that I am writing this, the young 



^'^ Cuvier says that this is the jay, the Corvus glandarius of Linnceus; 

 but that they are not more apt at speaking tliau tlie other kinds. 

 ^3 Cuvier remarks, that these can only be monstrosities. 



