Magpie Colouring 



tail black. This occurs in the following birds 

 belonging to the most diverse groups : 



The Magpie. 



The Magpie Tanager (Cissopis leveriana). 



The Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis\ cock 

 only ; in the hen the black is replaced by brownish 

 grey. 



The Pied H oney eater (Entomophila picata). 



The Chaplain Crow (white-bodied form of the 

 hoodie crow). 



The New Ireland Swallow Shrike (Artamus 

 insignis). 



The Magpie Goose (Anseranas melanoleucus). 



Combinations of this kind, in which the black 

 is replaced by brown or grey, are excessively rare. 



On the other hand, we see in several birds the 

 combination in which the white is replaced by 

 yellow : 



The Common Troupial (Icterus vulgaris). 



The Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus melano 

 cephalus). 



The Black-and-yellow Grosbeak, male only. 



What we may call imperfect magpie coloura- 

 tion, i.e. where the head becomes white, occurs 

 in several species of birds. The head of a black 

 species sometimes becomes white as a mutation ; 

 in the domestic Muscovy duck, for example, an 

 individual is sometimes produced having a white 

 head, although the black of the remainder of the 

 plumage remains unchanged. 



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