Till'. A.MEKICAX MAGPIE. 27 



of the liird's l)ill. luit whicli was unpierced. Of course the onl_\- remedy for 

 siicli a liabit is the sliot-gun. 



To say tliat Magpies are garrulous would be as trite as to say hens cackle, 

 and the adjective could not be better defined than "talking like a Magpie." 

 The Magpie is the .symbol of lo(|uacity. The very type in which this is 

 printed is small f<ica: that is small Mngl^ic. Much of this bird's conversation 

 is undoubtedh' luilit for print, but it has always the merit of vivacity. A 

 party of Magpies will keep u]i a running commentary on current events, now 

 facetious, now vehement, as ihcy move about; while a comparative cessation 

 of the racket means. ;is likely as not. that some favorite raconteiu- is hnlding 

 fortli. and that there will ho an explosion of riotous laughter when his tale 

 is done. The jiie. like Xero, aspires to song; but no sycophant will be 

 found to praise him, for he intersperses his more tuneful musings with 

 cliacks and barks and harsh interjections which betray a disordered taste. In 

 modulation and quality, however, the notes sometimes verge upon the human ; 

 and it is well known that JMagpies can I)c instructed until they acrpiire a 

 handsome repertoire of speech. 



In order that their douljle quartet of yoimgsters may be lined u\) for 

 the egg harvest, the Magpies take an early start at home building. .\])ril is 

 the nesting month, but I have twO' records for March 30th, — one of ti\e 

 eggs at Chelan, and one of eight in Yakima County. In the latter instance 

 the first egg must have been deposited not later than March i8th. .And 

 because the season affords him no protection, the Magpie resorts to two 

 expedients in nest building in lieu of concealment : he first seeks retirement, 

 the depths of some lonesome swamp, an unfrequented draw, or wooded 

 spring, in the foothills, and then he erects a castle which would do' credit 

 to a feudal baron. The nest is a ball of interlacing sticks set about a hollow 

 half-sphere of dried mud. The amount of labor expended upon one of 

 tliese structures is prodigious. The greasewond nest shown in the accoiupany- 

 ing cut is three feet deep and two feet thru, and the component sticks are 

 so firmly interwo\-en that no ordinarv agencv. short of the human hand, can 

 effect an entrance. The bird enters thru an obsciu-e passage in one side. 

 and. if sur]>rised u])on the nest, has always a way of escape planned thru 

 the opposite wall. The mud cup is carefully shaped with walls an inch or 

 two in thickness, a total breadth of eight or ten inches, arid a like depth. \n 

 the best construction this cavity is filled to a depth of three or fom- inches 

 with a loose inat of fine twigs of a uniform size. Upon this in tiu"n is placed 

 a coiled mattress of fine, clean rootlets, the whole affording a \cr\- sanitarv 

 arrangement. 



Another fortress, of single construction, was foiu' feet deep and three 

 and a half feet thru; and that, too. after making liberal allowance for chance 

 projections. The component sticks measure up to three feet in length and 



