MAGPIE. 115 



Chin and throat black, tlie shafts of some of the feathers 

 shining greyish white ; upper part of the breast black ; the 

 lower part of the breast, the belly, sides, and flanks, pure 

 white; under tail-coverts black ; under surface of tail-feathers 

 uniform dull black : thighs, legs, toes, and claws, black. 



The whole length of an adult male is full eighteen inches, 

 of which the longest tail-feathers measure nearly eleven inches. 

 The wing from the carpal joint to the end of the longest 

 primary, seven inches and one quarter : the first feather only 

 two inches and a half long ; the second about one inch 

 shorter than the third ; the fourth, fifth, and sixth feathers 

 nearly equal in length, but the fifth is rather the longest. 

 The wing, it will be observed, is shorter and less pointed 

 than that of the true Crows, and the flight of the bird is dif- 

 ferent ; the vibrations are quick, are given in rapid succession, 

 and apparently with more effort. On the ground this bird 

 progresses either by walking or hopping. 



The female is smaller in size, the tail is shorter, and the 

 plumage less brilliant. 



Specimens varying in the colour of their plumage occur 

 occasionally. 



Malformations of the beak, similar to that represented in 

 the vignette at page 90, and still further approaching the 

 form of the mandibles in the true Crossbills, have occurred in 

 the Magpie ; and Mr. John Blackwall, in his published Re- 

 searches in Zoology, page 173, notices a similar instance in 

 the Jackdaw. This specimen, now deposited in the Museum 

 of the Society established in Manchester for the promotion of 

 Natural History, was observed to be in excellent condition, 

 though killed in the month of January ; a convincing proof, 

 as Mr. Blackwall observes, that the bird had acquired great 

 expertness in the management of its singularly-formed bill. 



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