CHAPTER XIV 



BIRD ADVENTURERS 



PEOPLE are rather inclined to get hold of the 

 idea that certain birds are proper for certain 

 countries, and that any strange new kind 

 which comes in from oversea will never be able 

 to settle down in a new home, and this is a 

 very unfortunate notion, for it is often made 

 an excuse for the shooting of rare visitors 

 which is still constantly going on, although 

 more and more people nowadays object to it. 

 It is a wrong notion, too, for it is impossible to 

 suppose that all the various kinds of birds have 

 always lived in the countries one finds them in 

 now ; many must have sent out colonies and 

 occupied fresh countries, and in a few cases 

 we have had a chance of seeing this happen. 



For instance, the magpie is such a striking 

 fellow, with his pied plumage and long tail, to 

 say nothing of his noisy chattering, that he is 



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