126 The Gamekeeper at Home. 



down whenever they cross his path, unless, as is 

 sometimes the case, specially ordered to save the latter. 

 For the magpie of recent years has become much less 

 common. Though still often seen in some districts, 

 there are other localities where this odd bird is nearly 

 extinct. It does not seem to breed now, and you may 

 ask to be shown a nest in vain. A magpie's nest 

 in an orchard that I knew of was thought so great a 

 curiosity that every now and then people came to see 

 it from a distance. In other places the bird may be 

 frequently met with, almost always with his partner ; 

 and so jays usually go in couples, even in winter. 



The jay is a handsome bird, whose chatter en- 

 livens the plantations, and whose bright plumage 

 contrasts pleasantly with the dull green of the firs. 

 A pair will work a hedge in a sportsmanlike manner, 

 one on one side, the second on the other ; while the 

 tiny wren, which creeps through the bushes as a 

 mouse through the grass, cowers in terror, or slips 

 into a knot-hole till the danger is past. When the 

 husbandman has sown his field with the drill, hardly 

 has he left the gateway before a legion of small birds 

 pours out from the hedgerows and seeks for the stray 

 seeds. Then you may see the jay hop out among 

 them with an air of utter innocence, settling on the 

 larger lumps of clay for convenience of view, swelling 



