GAME NOTES AND FOLK-LORE. 229 



bite them severely; the pheasant jumps as 

 the ant bites. Where partridges are bred 

 in great numbers the keepers seek out the 

 nests of the meadow-ant, go round with a 

 cart, and dig up the nests, earth and all, 

 and throw them into the cart, and so carry 

 them home for the young birds to feed on. 



The woods of Red Deer Land are full of 

 birds of prey inimical to game ; the most 

 destructive are the magpies, for they must 

 be considered birds of prey so far as game 

 is concerned. They are insatiably fond of 

 eggs, and also kill the young birds. They 

 are numerous, as many as twenty or thirty 

 being often seen in a flock, and there are 

 sometimes even larger flocks than this. On 

 the moors sheep run almost untended ; if a 

 sheep gets on his back in a hollow sometimes 

 he cannot get up, and while in this helpless 

 position a couple of magpies will peck out 

 his eyes. They are fond of the eye, and will 



