THE AMERICAN MAGPIE. 



29 



'I'his histiiric pile is in inarketl ct)nlrast to one sighted in a willow on 

 the banks of Crab Creek near Odessa. My attention was attracted to the 

 spot by a scuffle, wliich took place between aMagpie and a pair of Kingbirds; 

 and when I started to examine the nest. I was in honest donl)t whether it 

 might not l)elong to the Kingbirds. The foundation was of mud, but this 

 came near constituting the nutside nf the nest instead of the inside. The 

 action of the wind ui)iin the willnus liad compressed the mud bowl to a boat- 

 shaped receptacle wherein lay li\e brown beauties, unmistakable Magi)ies' 

 eggs. There was a copious lining of rootlets, and a light half-cover of 



thorn twigs: luit the wh 

 scarceK' that in 



n 



Taken near Spoku 

 Pholo by Fred S. Merrill. 



YOUNG MAGPIK. 



foot in diameter and 



e discreetly quiet in 

 nesting time, and 

 especially so if 

 they have attemjit- 

 cd to nest in the 

 \icinity of a farm- 

 house. W h e n 

 (h"i\-en to the hills 

 b\' p e rsecu t ion 

 thc_\- accept an\' 

 shelter, and will 

 nest in grease- 

 wood, sage-brush, 

 even on the ground, 

 bors of clematis (cle- 

 matis lignsficifoliaj of- 

 fer occasional conceal- 

 ment, but thornapples 

 (Cratcvgiis Cdliinihian- 

 iiiii. etc.) afford the 

 safest retreat. .\ Mag- 

 pie snugly ensconced 

 in a thornapple fortress 

 may well bid defiance 

 to an\- retributive asen- 



c) -ih ■ :. ,!M. 11- -^ex'eral scores of nests I ne\er saw one in a pine tree 



in the ^ akima country, yet these are freely utilized in Chelan, Okanogan, and 

 SiK)kane Counties. Indeed, in these latter localities there is a sus])icion of 

 dawning preference for the tree-tops and difficult climbs. On the Columbia 

 River I once found a family of Magpies occupying the basement of a huge 



