88 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



regular echelon, all the while giving utterance to wild, 

 agonized cries very screams it presented a spectacle 

 beautiful as touching. If I mistake not, Mr. Wallace, in 

 his fine book about the Oriental Archipelago, describes 

 the Birds of Paradise as behaving in a very similar 

 manner. 



ARE MAGPIES GREGAKIOUS ? 



As a rule, Magpies are seen singly, or in pairs, and 

 most people know of the superstitious feeling attached to 

 their appearance, as thus formulated : 



One for sorrow, 

 Two for joy, 

 Three a marriage, 

 Four a boy. 



Were there any truth in these old saws, and it is wonder- 

 ful how they are believed in, some neighbourhoods would 

 show a preponderance of sorrow; while in others the 

 wedding bells would be kept constantly ringing, and 

 places become over-peopled. This last would surely be 

 the case in some of the western shires where woods 

 abound, and where four or more Magpies consorting 

 together is quite a common sight. In my own neigh- 

 bourhood, the southern part of Herefordshire, it is almost 

 a rarity to see but one or two together ; and last week 

 sixteen of the noisy chatterers were counted close to my 

 house consorting in a single flock. This, however, is a 

 somewhat singular occurrence, and no doubt due to the 



