MAGPIE 377 



The deliberate, seemingly slow, aeroplane-like flight of the magpie, 

 with its long tail trailing out behind, makes an impression not soon to be 

 lost. The observer is reminded of the appearance of a black and white 

 ribbon streaming in the wind. Added to this is an illusionary effect in 

 distant flight when the bird seems alternately to appear and disappear 

 as the strokes of the rounded wings in turn hide and expose the large 

 patches of white on the longer flight feathers. 



The general demeanor of the Black-billed Magpie appealed to us as 

 being decidedly quieter than that of most of the other members of the jay- 

 magpie-crow family. Its voice is far softer than that of the jays, and it 

 does not 'bawl out' intruders as do those birds. Many of its notes are 

 low and pleasant chuckling sounds, recalling certain notes of the Cali- 

 fornia Thrasher. On one occasion one of our party was attracted by a 

 noise arising in a mountain mahogany bush and sounding like two of 

 the branches rubbing together. It proved to come from a Black-billed 

 Magpie. Even in early fall, when bluejays and nutcrackers are at their 

 noisiest, the magpie is noticeably quiet. 



The nests of the Black-billed Magpie are among the most conspicuous 

 of all the bird structures to be seen about Mono Lake. Large to a degree 

 not known even to most hawks, the 'wicker-work' homes of the magpie 

 loom up from afar, sometimes being visible at a distance of half a mile. 

 The large size of the nest is due in part to the quantity of material used, 

 and also to the fact that the nesting cavity is covered by a dome-shaped 

 'roof so that the sitting bird or brood is protected from above as well 

 as from below. When our party visited the vicinity of Mono Lake in 

 the fall of 1915 many of these nests were seen; and in the field work in 

 the spring of 1916 a large number were observed, some newly built and 

 occupied by magpies, others constructed in earlier years and often in 

 use by Long-eared Owls. Near the "Salmon Ranch" on the west shore 

 of Mono Lake, on June 19, 1916, fully 20 old nests of this magpie were 

 observed in the course of one morning's visit, several times, in fact, the 

 number of pairs of the birds seen. This testifies to the durability of 

 the nests, some of which undoubtedly last several years, even when not 

 repaired and reoccupied in successive seasons. 



A single nest of the Black-billed Magpie was sent to the Museum of 

 Vertebrate Zoology from Laws, Inyo County, southeast of the Yosemite 

 section, and this is the only one available for detailed study. The structure 

 as a whole measures approximately 20 inches in outside diameter, and 

 the height with the dome in place is almost as much ; in other words, the 

 nest is practically a sphere of 20 inches diameter. The cavity within is 

 about 7 inches in diameter and the same or slightly more in height. The 

 construction outwardly is loose, many of the twigs being ready to fall 



