THE MAGPIE. 103 



by the way, she seems to call her mate after her ; but he, intent 

 on something which he has espied below, hops downward from 

 twig to branch, and descends to the ground. Eaising his body 

 as high as possible, and carrying his tail inclined upwards, to 

 avoid contact with the moist grass, he walks a few paces, and 

 espying an earth-worm half protruded from its hole, drags it out 

 by a sudden jerk, breaks it in pieces, and swallows it. Now, 

 under the hedge he has found a snail, which he will presently 

 detach from its shell. But something among the bushes has 

 startled him, and lightly he springs upwards, chattering the 

 while, to regain his favourite tree. It is a cat, which, not less 

 frightened than himself, runs off towards the house. The Mag- 

 pie again descends, steps slowly over the green, looking from side 

 to side, stops and listens, advances rapiclly by a succession of 

 leaps, and encounters a whole brood of chickens, with their mo- 

 ther at their heels. Were they unprotected, how deliciouslv 

 would the Magpie feast but, alas ! it is vain to think of it ; for 

 with fury in her eye, bristled plumage, and loud clamour, head- 

 long rushes the Hen, overturning two of her younglings, when 

 the enemy suddenly wheels round, avoiding the encounter, and 

 flies off after his mate. 



" There, again, you perceive them in the meadow, as they walk 

 about with elevated tails, looking for something eatable, although 

 apparently with little success. By the hedge afar off are two 

 boys with a gun, endeavouring to creep up to a flock of Plovers 

 on the other side. But the Magpies have observed them, and 

 presently rising, fly directly over the field, chattering vehe- 

 mently, on which the whole flock takes wing, and the disap- 

 pointed sportsmen sheer off in another direction." 



JESSE, in his Gleanings, observes, that " as he was passing a 

 considerable length of wall, one day, he noticed five or six Mag- 

 pies perched upon it, every now and then eagerly darting at the 

 butterflies as they came near, and after making a short and ele- 

 gant circular sweep, alighted on the wall again, and there feeding 

 on their prey." In France, the Magpie is a great favourite, being 

 one of the few birds which no one seems to destroy ; it is accord- 

 ingly very common there. In Sweden and Norway also, it is 

 universally petted and protected. In The Magazine of Zoo- 

 logy and Botany, ME. HEWITSON observes " The Magpie is 

 one of the most abundant, as well as the most interesting of the 

 Norwegian birds ; noted for its sly cunning habits here, its altered 

 demeanour there is the more remarkable. It is upon the most 

 familiar terms with the inhabitants, perching close about their 

 doors, and sometimes walking inside their houses. It abounds 

 in the town of Drontheim, making its nest upon the churches 

 and warehouses. We saw as many as a dozen of them at one 



