140 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
wary manner in which they effected their plunder— 
proving themselves most accomplished thieves. 
They are sociable and friendly amongst themselves, 
and live in goodwill and peace towards their neighbours. 
I never saw amongst them any of those violent, ill- 
natured attacks which the rooks make upon some un- 
fortunate individual who may not happen to-belong to 
their coterie, but they appear quietly to do as they 
would be done by. 
They mingle freely with the rooks when feeding, and 
are as active as they in their search for the larve of the 
cockchafer, digging up the turf with great perseverance. 
Why, then, is not the skin around the base of the bill 
as bare as the rook’s? I have watched them most 
closely, but I never saw the slightest abrasion of their 
feathers, which must have been the case if produced by 
digging. 
In confinement they manifest great familiarity, and 
are much attached to their owners, sometimes exhibiting 
a quaint comicality of manners which is very amusing, 
and greatly delighting in a bit of mischief; they will sit 
on the rail of a cottage garden watching the play of the 
children, and at dinner-time keeping a good look-out 
for their share. 
The artfulness and thievish propensities of the crow 
family seem to be concentrated in the Magpie (C. pica). 
Wary to an extreme, it is ever ready for plunder, and, 
though often kept in a cage, I know of few common 
birds with whose general habits in a state of nature we 
are so little familiar. It is rarely that it permits of a 
near approach, except under favourable circumstances 
for concealment, but in our secluded districts I have 
often enjoyed these opportunities, and have been much 
