186 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



their chattering being very extraordinary. Two years ago a pair 

 of these birds had their nest near Sandyford, and within the 

 city bounds : they were quite familiar in their manners, and made 

 themselves at home, as if in the full knowledge that they were 

 much safer there than in the country. It is a pity that the 

 Magpie is so mischievous and destructive to eggs and young 

 game, as it is really a pleasing object when seen flying alongside 

 a green belt of plantation, or perched on the summit of some tall 

 poplar trying to balance himself by a graceful movement of his 

 ample tail. Its ordinary cry is harsh and grating, not unlike the 

 noise of a policeman's rattle, or an old woman's pattens clattering 

 on the pavement. 



Although subjected to the usual amount of persecution among 

 game preservers, the Magpie still maintains its hold in all the 

 wooded districts of Scotland from Wigtown to Sutherlandshire. 

 It is yet very common in some parts of Ayrshire. I lately saw 

 a dozen on a small property near Girvan, the owner of which did 

 not preserve the game, and consequently had no keeper on the 

 ground. Magpies, indeed, soon find out places unfrequented by 

 keepers, although they seldom lose their naturally jealous and 

 distrustful character unless when living in the immediate vicinity 

 of large towns. 



Like the carrion or hooded crow, this bird, which I am disposed 

 to think from observation, remains in pairs all the year, appears 

 readily to find a second, third, or even fourth mate when deprived 

 of its companion, by watchful keepers, during the breeding season. 

 Six successive females have been known, in this way, to sit upon 

 the same eggs, one after another having been systematically shot; 

 but I think that no true-minded naturalist would envy any one 

 the possession of a few pheasants and partridges gained through 

 the practice of such inexcusable cruelty. 



In some districts of Ayrshire there is still a lingering super- 

 stitious rhyme in connection with the Magpie which, I have no 

 doubt, affects to some extent the movements of those who believe 

 in it : 



" One's joy; 

 Two grief; 

 Three a wedding; 

 Four death." 



I recollect such a rhyme, or something akin to it, prevailing in 



