CROWS 



11 



Material : 



Fig. 6. 



trees. Occasionally builds open and domed nests in trees. 

 Material : sticks, lined with wool, dry grass, fur, &c. Species 

 nests in colonies. 



Eggs. Usually 4-6. Shades of greenish-blue, marked with 

 brownish-blacks and ash-grey. Av. size, 1'39 x 1 in. Laying 

 begins end April. One brood. 



6. Magpie [Pica pica pica (Linnaeus) ; Pica rustica (Scopoli)]. 

 Builds throughout British Isles, 



where not exterminated. Stationary. 



Bird. Length 18 in. Easily 

 recognised by its black and white 

 plumage and long wedge-shaped 

 tail. 



Nest. Position : as a rule high up 

 in a tree ; also in hedges and bushes, 

 sticks and earth, lined usually with roots, and 

 usually domed with thorny sticks. 



Eggs. Generally 5-8. Greenish - blue to 

 greenish-yellow freckled with shades of greyish- 

 brown. Av. size, 1*30 x '90 in. Laying begins in 

 April. One brood. 



7. Jay [Garrulus glatidarius rufitergum Hart, and Garrulus 

 glandarius hibernicus Witherby and Hartert]. More or less 

 stationary in wooded districts, the first in Great Britain, the 

 second in Ireland. 



Bird. Length 14 in. Distinguished by the reddish-fawn 

 back, conspicuous white rump, and the patch of alternating 

 white, black, and blue on the wing. The under-parts are pale 

 brownish-buff, turning to rufous on the flanks. Tail mostly 

 black. Erectile crest whitish striped with black. Iris blue. 

 The Irish subspecies (G. g. hibernicus) is darker and more rufous 

 than the British (G. g. rufitergum), the most striking differences 

 being the " dark, rufous colouring of 

 the sides of the head, ear-coverts, and 

 under-parts, and the darker crest 7 ' 

 (British Birds, Mag. iv. 235). 



Nest. Place: bush or tree, usually 

 high up. Material : twigs and stem 

 neatly lined with fine roots, and 

 sometimes other material. 



Eggs. Usually 4-6. Pale brownish 

 or greyish-green, speckled olive-green. 

 Varieties have pinkish or blue ground 

 colour. Av. size, 1*25 x *90 in. Laying begins April-May. 

 One brood. 



8. Chough, Red*legged daw [Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax (Lin- 



Fig. 7. 



