152 PECULIAR SOUNDS OF ANIMALS. 



At other times they utter a note like a sudden 

 snap, and when they congregate in the evening 

 they chatter with satisfaction, or sometimes use 

 an elongated note, especially in the breeding 

 season. I have been assured that so thickly do 

 these birds assemble at their roosting places in 

 some localities, that more than a thousand have 

 been killed by firing shots into the bushes, or low 

 trees, on one night only. 



But the most extraordinary bird I ever met 

 with was my favourite Magpie. He expressed his 

 anger, wants, pleasure and gratitude in the most 

 marked and distinct manner. When he saw one 

 or two favourites, he would make a noise resem- 

 bling a kiss, and shew his delight in a way not to 

 be misunderstood. When angry he was voci- 

 ferous, and scolded at the sight of any one he 

 disliked. His laugh was so hearty, joyous and 

 natural, that no one who heard it could help join- 

 ing in it, and he talked quite as distinctly as any 

 human being. Poor bird ! like most favourites, 

 he came to an untimely end, and we missed him 

 as we should have done one of the inmates of the 

 family. 



The call of the Partridge when separated from 

 its associates is very peculiar, but when the retreat 

 of its young is invaded, its cries are piercing or 

 rather a sort of scream. When they have been 

 scattered by a sportsman, 



