THE CHOUGH. 389 



effectual shelter to the large and conspicuous edifice which rests upon 

 the boughs. 



When tame it is a most amusing bird, teaching itself all kinds of odd 

 tricks, and learning to talk with an accuracy and volubility little inferior 

 to that of the parrot. It is, however, a most incorrigibly mischievous 

 bird, and unless subjected to the most careful supervision is capable of 

 doing a very great amount of damage in a wonderfully short space of time. 

 I have witnessed a multitude of these exploits, but, as I have already re- 

 lated many of them in My Feathered Friends, the reader is referred to 

 the pages of that little work for a tolerably long series of new and orig- 

 inal Magpie anecdotes. 



The plumage of this bird is remarkably handsome in both color and 

 form. The head, neck, back, and upper tail-coverts are deep black, 

 with a light green gloss in certain lights ; and the same color is found 

 on the chin, the throat, the upper part of the breast, and the base, tips, 

 and outer edges of the primary quill feathers. The secondaries are also 

 black, but with a blue gloss, which becomes peculiarly rich od the ter- 

 tials and wing-coverts. The inner web of the primaries is white for a 

 considerable portion of its length, presenting a bold and conspicuous 

 appearance when the bird spreads its wiugs. The central feathers of 

 the tail are nearly eleven inches in length, and they decrease gradually 

 in size, those on the exterior being hardly five inches long. Their color 

 is a wonderfully rich mixture of the deepest blue, purple, and green, 

 the green being toward the base, and the blue and purple toward the 

 extremity. The under surface of the tail feathers is dull black. The 

 lower parts of the breast, abdomen, and flanks are snowy white. 



Of the next little group of Corvidse, named the Pyrrhocoracinse, or 

 Scarlet Crows, in allusion to the red bill and legs of some of the species, 

 England possesses a good example in the common Chough. In all 

 these birds the beak is long and slender, slightly curved downward, 

 and with a small notch at the extremity. 



The Chough is essentially a coast-bird, loving rocks and stones, and 

 having a great dislike to grass or hedges of every kind. When in 

 search of food it will venture for some little distance inland, and has 

 been observed in the act of following the ploughman after the manner 

 of the rook, busily engaged in picking up the grubs that are unearthed. 

 Sometimes it will feed upon berries and grain, but evidently prefers an- 

 imal food, pecking its prey out of the crevices among the rocks with 

 great rapidity and certainty of aim, its long and curved beak aiding it 

 in drawing the concealed insects out of their hiding-places. 



As is the case with nearly all coast-birds, the Chough builds its nest 

 at no great distance from the sea, generally choosing some convenient 

 crevice in a cliff or an old ruin near the seashore. The nest is always 

 placed at a considerable elevation from the ground, and is made of 



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