MAGPIES ASSEMBLE TO ROOST. 163 



" In the winter, Magpies assemble to roost to- 

 gether in large flocks. In a wood near me, there 

 were hundreds, I might almost say thousands, 

 that came there regularly every evening, flying in 

 from all directions. They formerly frequented an 

 orchard on the opposite side of the valley to which 

 the wood is situated, but having been shot at, they 

 deserted it for the wood. The next evening not 

 one magpie came to the orchard, but all went si- 

 multaneously to the wood, as if they had pre- 

 viously agreed amongst themselves to do so. In 

 moonlight nights they might be seen clustering 

 together on the trees." 



This gregarious propensity of magpies I have 

 witnessed, especially in open countries. In the 

 enclosed parts of England, they are more com- 

 monly seen in pairs or in families, like the jay and 

 titmouse. In cold frosty weather, magpies will 

 cluster together on trees, as if to keep each other 

 warm, and then the masses appear like large black 

 lumps. This circumstance was confirmed to me 

 by the late Mr. Allan Cunningham, whose loss I 

 deplore in common with many of his friends and 

 acquaintance. My correspondent continues : 



" I have seen a curious instance of birds of very 

 different habits and nature, such as the sparrow- 

 hawk, jackdaw, green wookpecker, nuthatch and 

 wren; all building, and having either eggs or 

 young ones at the same time, either on or in the 



