236 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



and rabbits. M. Prevost gives the Magpie rather a 

 good character for general usefulness, and certainly, 

 as far as his list of food goes, this bird ought not to 

 be very virulently persecuted. The list is as 

 follows: "January, grubs of cockchaifers, beetles 

 and different corn and seeds ; February, the same 

 and berries ; March, the same ; April, moles, 

 crickets, water-rats and field-mice ; May, cock- 

 chaffers, glow-worms and fruit ; June, the same and 

 weevils ; July, beetles and field-mice ; August, bird's 

 eggs and weevils ; September, beetles, worms, barley 

 and grasshoppers; October, grasshoppers, carrion 

 beetles and green locusts ; November, grasshoppers 

 and kernels of fruit ; December, grubs, cockchaffers, 

 young rabbits and berries." That this generally 

 good character of the Magpie is to a certain extent 

 deserved may be proved by a note in the 'Zoolo- 

 gist' for 1864, in which mention is made of one 

 bird that had been killed by that odious and most 

 mischievous device of poisoned wheat, and in the 

 crop of this bird were found seven grains of the 

 poisoned wheat, nine wire-worms, and about a table 

 spoonful of beetles of various sizes and Iarva3. The 

 gizzard of one I examined in October contained one 

 small snail whole and shells of others, a great 

 number of beetles, one grain of barley, and a great 

 quantity of seeds of various weeds, mostly charlinch.* 



* Charlinch or charlock, Sinapis arvensis.. 



