INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS 



has annoyed them. The voice of the oft'ending person is 

 quite sufficient to startle the bird and make it rush " post 

 haste" to the gate to waylay or torment the arriving juvenile 

 or lady. Although it is principally children and ladies that 

 they have a grievance against, some children and ladies 



Fig. 1. Black-backed Magpie and Nest. One-fifth natural size. 



pass by as very good friends. No stones are picked up by 

 the bird as if to throw and injure. One magpie known to 

 myself, upon hearing an enemy's voice will invariably rush 

 to the gate, pick up a stone, and try to get through the 

 pickets with the stone in its beak. Under domestication 



