100 THE MAGPIE. 



squirrels which have been shot, a food from which the smaller 

 birds of prey generally turn with disgust. 



Breeding. It builds its nest in hollow trees, and generally 

 lays five or six eggs, of a dark olive grey, striped with dark 

 brown. The young may be reared on meat. 



Mode of Taking. The Nutcracker may either be caught in 

 the watertrap, or in autumn by a noose, baited with sendee 

 berries, or better still, with hazel nuts. 



Attractive Qualities. Its movements are as amusing as those 

 of the Shrike ; it is as talkative as the Jay, and imitates the 

 cries of many animals. Judging from its usual notes, and phy- 

 sical conformation, it might, if trained young, be taught to 

 speak. 



ADDITIONAL. MUDIE'S account of this bird is very succinct. 

 He says that " it is an exceedingly rare straggler in Great Bri- 

 tain, though abundant in many parts of the continent, even the 

 cold ones. It is about the size of a Magpie, of a rusty brown 

 colour, palest on the sides of the head and neck : and is, espe- 

 cially on the scapulars, spotted with white, the spots larger and 

 longer than those on the Starling. It lives on wild berries and 

 kernels, and pips, the latter of which it digs out of their shells 

 and cores with its powerful cultrated bill. It also lives upon in- 

 sects, and digs them out of the holes of trees, upon which it can 

 support itself in a manner similar to that of the Woodpeckers. 

 It has, indeed, something of the air, as well as the manners, of 

 those birds, but it wants their peculiarly distinguishing charac- 

 ters." MACGILLIVEAT says that " the Nutcracker forms the tran- 

 sition from the Crows to the Starlings, and, as M. TEMMINCK 

 thinks, to the Woodpeckers, some of which it certainly resembles in 

 the form of its bill, of which, however, the point is not compressed 

 as in that family, but depressed as in the Starlings. Its feet are 

 similar to those of the Crows, and still more of the Jays and 

 Starlings, but are not more adapted for climbing than those of 

 the last-mentioned families, although TEMMINCK states that its 

 habits greatly resemble those of the Woodpeckers." 



15. THE MAGPIE. 



Corvus Pica, LIN. Le Pie, BUF. Die Elster, BECH. 

 Description. This bird is about the size of a Pigeon, but. 

 on account of its long tail, measures as much as eighteen inches 

 in length. It is everywhere well known as a bird which fre- 

 quents the habitation of man ; and the colouring of its plu- 



