220 SPRING. 



but if that be broken, they do not repair it, 

 though they will carry part of the materials to ano- 

 ther tree. In such cases they often resort to those 

 fragments of structures, which are known by the 

 name of " accidental nests," but which are, in reality, 

 rather the remains of nests that have been built late 

 in the preceding season, or of birds that have met with 

 casualties, or been driven from the neighbourhood. 

 Most likely they are the nests of other magpies, as 

 though, at certain times, the birds assemble without 

 any hostile feelings, they are not fond of near neigh- 

 bours in nesting time. The incubation lasts for about 

 two weeks, the young are blind for some days, and 

 the parents continue their attention to them for a long 

 time. In winter, magpies do not perch in the same 

 trees in which they have their nests ; but retire to 

 the depths of the coppices, where they spend the 

 night in considerable numbers, dispersing again in the 

 morning. 



The crow tribe give a sort of character to the orni- 

 thology of Britain, by affording a bird for almost 

 every kind of scene ; and as they have probably a 

 greater range in their food than any other tribe of 

 animals, we find them at all seasons. The solitary 

 wilds have their carrion crow, with an occasional visit 

 of the raven ; the tall woods and cultivated fields have 

 the rook ; and the hedge and solitary tree the magpie. 

 Woods of less elevation, especially when they are 

 leafy and contain trees that bear mast or berries, have 

 the jay; and old towers, steeples, rocks, caves, and 

 sometimes the chimney stacks of houses, or the bur- 



