THE CHOUGH. 197 



only by the jay, but by most birds that can be taught to 

 articulate. That is easily accounted for by the unyielding 

 nature of the mandible, which forces the air to come out 

 between the upper part of the tongue and the palate, on which 

 that trills. A man cannot easily pronounce the r in any but 

 Northumberland fashion, if he grins the while: and those 

 who use the tongue simpering and softly, merely touch, but 

 do not pronounce it. 



THE CHOUGH (Pyrrkocorax graculus). 



The chough is as much a bird of the breeze as the jay is 

 of the shade and shelter of the woods; and their different 

 plumages are well adapted to the differences of their modes 

 of life. The loose and comparatively downy plumage of the 

 jay enables it to glide between trees, and softens its collision 

 with branches, while the firm plumage of the chough enables 

 it to bear the storm, when beating against the rocks in which 

 it takes up its abode. 



The chough is about seventeen inches long, thirty-four in 

 the stretch of the wings, and thirteen ounces in weight : the 

 female is smaller. The colour is all over black, but with finely- 

 glossed reflections of blue and violet ; the eye lively, with a 

 light brown iris; and the bill and feet red the former long, 

 bent a little from the base, and very tapering; the latter with 

 strong black claws, sharp and considerably curved. It is a 

 handsome and lively bird, very active on the wing and utters 

 a shrill and wailing cry. It can be tamed, but it is restless 

 and mischievous. 



On the continent choughs migrate, but in Britain they re- 

 main in the same haunts all the year round. Their haunts 

 are mostly confined to the southern and western coasts, on 

 rocky shores, and where the surface of the adjoining land is 

 irregular. They also nestle in ruined buildings, but not near 

 the habitations of man, unless protected by a great elevation 



