THE MAGPIE. 199 



solution of gum arabic, one layer being allowed to dry before 

 the next is added. When they are dry, a little hole is easily 

 drilled on one side by means of a needle, the contents of the 

 egg are then broken up with the same needle, and are washed 

 out by injecting water through a very delicate glass tube. Any- 

 one can make these slender tubes by merely taking a piece of 

 ordinary glass tubing, heating it in a spirit lamp, and drawing 

 the ends apart. It may then be broken off to form a tube of 

 any degree of fineness, and by alternate injection of water and 

 sucking the diluted contents into the tube, the egg will soon be 

 emptied. The paper is removed by soaking in warm water. 



We have another well-known bird, which makes a nest as 

 well domed as that of the long-tailed titmouse, though not 

 nearly so pretty nor so elegant. This is the common Magpie 

 {Pica caudata). 



The nest of the Magpie is of very large size when compared 

 with the dimensions of the architect, probably on account of 

 the long tail of the mother bird, which cannot be protruded 

 over the edge of the nest, as is the case with many long-tailed 

 birds. It is not merely made of moss and similar soft sub- 

 stances, but the framework is very strongly constructed of 

 sticks, among which are generally interwoven a number of. 

 sharp thorns, so that the nest is nearly as unpleasant to the 

 bare hand as a thistle. Moreover, the bird has a way of 

 gathering the thorns round the entrance, so that the hand can- 

 not be inserted into the nest without danger of many wounds. 

 Indeed, the nest is so large, and the eggs lie so far from the 

 entrance, that to extract them is generally a task that cannot 

 be accomplished without the aid of a knife. 



Besides the thorny defence, the nest is mostly strengthened 

 by its very position, being generally fixed in the furcation of 

 several stout boughs, so that it can only be approached in 

 certain parts. Moreover, the great height at which the Magpie 

 loves to build the nest renders the operation of robbing it so 

 dangerous, that many a nest escapes because no one has nerve 

 enough to risk the ascent. 



