MAGPIE 



161 



have probably served to save him from the fate that has overtaken 

 the hen harrier and marsh-harrier, and many another beautiful 

 member of the British avifauna. As it is, he has been almost extir- 

 pated throughout a large part of England and Scotland. In Ireland, 

 however, he is still a common species, but, oddly enough, he is not 

 indigenous to that country. It is believed that he first appeared 



FIG. 55. MAGPIE. natural size. , 



there about, or a little more than, two centuries and a half ago. 

 How he got there is not known. According to Yarrell, there is a 

 widespread belief in Ireland that the magpie was imported into 

 that island by the English out of spite. 



The magpie is as singular hi his motions, gestures, and flight as 

 he is beautiful in colour and elegant in form. On the whig he 

 appears most conspicuous when the white webs of the quills are 

 displayed. The wings are very short, and the flight is slow and 

 somewhat wavering, and at every three or four yards there is an 

 interval of violent wing-beats, during which the black and white of 

 the quills mix and become nearly grey. High in the air he has a 

 most curious appearance ; as a rule he flies low, passing from tree 

 to tree, or along tho Hide of a hedge. He seeks his food on the 



