224 THE MAGPIE. 



into. In this snug and secure habitation the male 

 assists the female in hatching and bringing up their 

 young, though the wanton school-boy often defeats 

 their tenderness, by robbing the nest either of its eggs 

 or young. 



In this tribe of birds we may include the jay, which 

 is universally allowed to be one of the most beautiful 

 of British birds. The forehead is white, with black 

 streaks ; and the head is covered with long feathers, 

 which it can erect at will; the neck, back, breast, and 

 belly are a feint purple, intermixed with light grey ; 

 the wings are barred with black, white, and a beau- 

 tiful blue : the tail is black, and the feet brown. Like 

 the magpie, it will devour small birds, but may easily 

 be made docile and tame. 



The chatterer, which is a native of Germany, in size 

 is something less than the jay ; the feathers of this bird 

 are beautifully variegated with a mixture of ash-colour, 

 chesnut, red, and yellow ; and it has horny appendages 

 from the tips of seven of the lesser quills, which marks' 

 it to be of a separate and distinct race. 



The roller may be distinguished from every other of 

 the species by naked tubercles or warts, which are 

 placed near the eyes : the feathers of this bird are re- 

 markably beautiful, for the breast and belly are blue, 

 the head green, and the wings variegated with black, 

 blue, and white. 



The toncan is a native of South America, and there 

 are four or five distinct kinds of this curious race ; though 

 the history of one will be quite sufficient to give the 

 reader an idea of the singularity of its shape. The red- 

 beaked toncan is about the size of a jackdaw; the bill, 

 from the angles of the mouth to the extremity, is about 

 seven inches in length, and in width, near the upper part, 



