THROUGH THE WOODS. 101 



and the more open country, and his rich contrast 

 of black and white plumage renders him conspicuous 

 enough, either against the background of green 

 foliage or the bare gray branches. His harsh 

 chatter, heard most frequently at nightfall, often 

 tells the whereabouts of his roosting-place ; and in 

 early spring especially he may be seen in parties. 

 The massive nest of the Magpie is made in almost 

 every kind of tree, high and low alike, and as the 

 birds pair for life it is used year after year for 

 breeding purposes. Early in the spring the old 

 birds either begin patching up their old home or 

 making a new one. Sticks cemented with mud; 

 and eventually lined with the same, form the outer 

 shell, which is thickly lined with fine roots. The 

 great peculiarity of the Magpie's nest is the enor- 

 mous roof of sticks which is built over it. The 

 six or eight eggs vary a good deal in colour, 

 ranging from bluish white to bluish green in 

 ground, spotted, freckled, and blotched with 

 greenish brown and sparingly with purplish gray. 

 But one brood is reared in the year. During the 

 nesting season the Magpie becomes less noisy, 

 and is very careful not to betray the site of its 

 nest, although this caution is useless, for the big 

 .stick-built home is conspicuous enough among the 

 still leafless branches. The food of the Magpie 

 consists of carrion, insects, acorns, eggs, worms, 



frubs ; in fact, anything and everything edible the 

 ird may come across. 



Another showy bird of the Crow tribe which 

 dwells in our woods is the JAY (Garrulus glan- chiefly 

 darius). No other British species can readily be beaming 

 confused with it. The general body plumage is soSand; 

 vinaceous brown; but the rump and tail- co verts frei a r nd er " 



