THE CROW FAMILY 127 
them will settle in a little grove and build several 
nests in it. The nests of this bird are the 
queerest bird homes you ever saw. They look 
like big covered baskets. They are half the size 
of a bushel basket, and made of sticks outside. 
There is an opening on each side for the bird to 
go in and out. Those I have seen were in the 
tops of low trees. 
The beautiful tail of the magpie seems to be a 
great care to him. When he flies, —as I said, — 
he spreads it wide and makes a great show with 
it. When he is going about on a tree, he jerks 
and twitches it all the time. No doubt every 
jerk means something, if we could only under- 
stand. When on the ground, he holds the pre- 
cious tail up carefully, so that it shall not touch 
the earth. He is a very dignified bird when 
walking about in this way, looking for the grubs, 
grasshoppers, crickets, and other creatures on 
which he feeds. But sometimes he has no dig- 
nity at all. He scolds, and screams, and acts 
like a bad child. He isn’t particular about his 
food. He will eat almost anything, even scraps 
from a kitchen. 
Major Bendire tells a comical story of the 
cunning of some magpies in getting food away 
from a dog. The dog carried his bone with 
some meat on it to the lawn in front of the 
