MAGPIE. 51 



patch of white on the inner web of each of the first ten 

 leathers; secondaries and tertiaries, fine blue. The tail is 

 graduated, the outer feathers being only five inches long, and 

 the middle ones nearly eleven inches; their colours are brightly 

 iridescent, blue and purple shades near the end, and green 

 from thence to the base; the inner webs of all except the 

 centre pair are purple black; beneath it is dull black; tail 

 coverts, black; legs, toes, and claws, black. 



The female is less in size than the male, being about one 

 foot four inches in length, and the colours not so bright; the 

 tail also is shorter. 



Occasional varieties are met with, and malformations of the 

 bill, both crosswise at the tip, and in the way of elongation, 

 have occurred in the Magpie. 



