MAGPIE FORTIFICATIONS 



amount of damage in the country to the crops in both fields 

 and gardens. 



The nest of the Magpie (Pica pica) is usually placed high 

 up in the fork of the tree, but is sometimes found in thorn 

 bushes and tall hedges. It is a large domed structure com- 

 posed mainly of dry branches, the projecting thorns on 

 which render it very secure from the intrusion of the smaller 

 birds of prey. The lower part of the nest forms a deep cup, 

 and the sticks are there cemented together by a layer of mud 

 or clay. Within there is a double lining of fine twigs 

 and, lastly, rootlets; an arrangement which has important 

 advantages, for when the nest is exposed to a heavy storm 

 a considerable quantity of rain may fall into the cavity 

 without swamping the eggs or young before it has time 

 to filter out through the mud wall. Besides this, it makes 

 a very springy bed. Lescuyer relates that on one oc- 

 casion when he wished to secure a magpie's nest, he gave 

 instructions for the thin branch on which it was situated 

 to be sawn off the tree. This was done; the nest and 

 bough fell to the ground together, a distance of about 

 seventy feet, but so soft and elastic was the lining of the nest 

 that the single egg which it contained was found to be 

 uninjured. 



For the dome of the nest the bird selects long, tough, 

 thorny twigs, which it fixes firmly into the general structure 

 and crosses in all directions, so that they form an open net- 

 work which does not entirely conceal the interior ; neverthe- 

 less, it constitutes a strong fortification which makes it 

 possible for the magpie to build in an isolated tree where its 

 nest is often a conspicuous object. As this bird is not 

 armed with beak and claws capable of placing it on equal 

 terms with the birds of prey, it would in such a situation 

 stand a poor chance in the struggle for existence if the nest 



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