192 RED DEER. 



the cart, and so carry them home for the 

 young birds to feed on. 



The woods of Eed 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 beino- 

 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 take it 

 if they can ; yet the same magpies ride on 

 the sheep's back as he walks, and remove 

 pests from the wool. 



The way to kill these birds is to hang up 

 a dead lamb, poisoned, in a tree ; they tear 

 the flesh, and are destroyed by the poison it 

 has absorbed. There are always some round 



