PICA MELANOLEUCA. 477 



most abundant and most interesting of the Norwegian birds for 

 its sly, cunning habits. It is upon the most friendly terms 

 with the people, pecking close to their doors, sometimes walking 

 into their houses. Few farm-houses are without some breeding 

 under the eaves, supported by the spouts. In trees close by 

 their nests were several feet deep, the accumulation of years of 

 quiet possession." In the town of Drontheim he saw them 

 building under the eaves of warehouses and on their churches, 

 as jackdaws do here. Upon the roofs and on the tombstones a 

 dozen of these beautiful and lively birds might be seen at one 

 time. But, as a rule, the Norwegians are kinder to birds than 

 we are, and as a natural result the magpie may be seen walking 

 into their houses with pert confidence, while it is seldom seen 

 in the forests away from houses. The opposite with us, for it 

 is only in the thickest of fir woods or high hedges enclosing 

 grass parks away from man that this wary (because persecuted) 

 bird is seen. And, as if guided by instinct, its nest with us 

 seems to be built as a fortress not to be taken, for it is often so 

 domed over and hedged with such a mass of prickly thorns as 

 almost to defy their eggs or young to be taken out. It is also 

 an early breeder, builds in March, and lays from five to eight 

 eggs — 1 \ by an inch — of a greenisb-grey colour, spotted with 

 brown and purple. They resemble those of the last genus, 

 but more freckled. I have got their eggs chiefly in April and 

 first of May. Like all birds, their nests vary. On April 24th, 

 1864, I got one on the top of a stunted larch fir, 12 feet high, 

 in a thorn hedge, at Law Head, surrounding grass parks, six miles 

 from here. It contained five fresh eggs. The nest was roofed, 

 18 inches across and 18 deep, composed of thorn and larch twigs, 

 plastered inside with clay and mud and dry grass — like a 

 blackbird's — abundantly lined with fine root fibres. The inside 

 cup was 5 inches by 5 deep. There were two openings in 

 this nest — for ingress and egress. I carefully measured and 

 inspected it. Near the same place one was got on the 11th with 

 six eggs ; four were taken, two left. A lad took the two eggs 

 on the 18th. Eight days after this the original finders went 

 expecting to see two young ones, but were surprised to find six 

 eggs. They again took four and left two eggs as before. They 

 went back next week, and instead of two they again found six 

 eggs. They took them all, but as they never went back again 

 they did not know the result of this singular fact. On May 

 1st, 1882, I got another with five eggs on a stunted tree only 

 seven feet up. It was large — 24 inches across by 25 deep — 



