HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. [147 



country to the great injury of corn-land. (Mr. Dickenson.) They 

 may be serviceable in a moderate degree, in picking worms and 

 caterpillars out of the earth, and will often examine each furrow 

 after the plough. 



4. CORNIX The Royston Crow; Hooded Crow: Back, breast, 

 belly, and upper part of the neck ash colour, the rest bluish black ; 

 weight 22 ounces, length 22 inches. Migrates: rare. 



5. MONEDULA The Jackdaw: Back of the head, breast, and 

 belly, ash colour, the rest black, irides white ; weight nine ounces, 

 length 13 inches. 



6. GLANDARIUS The Jay: Head covered with long feathers, 

 forehead white with black strokes, neck black, coverts of the wings 

 fine blue, barred with black and white, back, breast, and belly 

 purple, dashed with grey, rump white, tail black; weight six 

 ounces, length 13 inches. Dr. Plot names a white popinjay. 



7. PICA The Magpie : Black and white tail, long, wedge- 

 fashioned and richly tinged; weight nine ounces, length 18 inches. 

 Build their nest with thorns. 



Picus VIRIDIS The Green lo or Woodpecker : Bill angular, 

 straight, finely squared, admirably adapted in all the species for the 

 perforation of trees, crown crimson, back green, rump pale yellow, 

 beneath pale green, tail tipped with black, bill lead colour, legs and 

 feet greenish ash colour, weight six ounces and a half, length 

 thirteen inches. Has a tone of voice resembling the human laugh. 



2. MAJOR The Greater Spotted French Magpie: Irides red, 

 crown of the head black, back part crimson, a black collar round 

 the neck, back and rump black, cheeks and scapulars white, breast 

 yellowish white. This bird is more common than the former, fly- 

 ing in the same manner from tree to tree. It is erroneously as- 

 serted to keep entirely in the woods. 



3. MINOR The Little Spotted Woodpecker: Crown crimson, 

 above black barred with white, beneath dirty white ; weight one 

 ounce, length six inches. In the female the crown is white, rare, 

 and a miniature of the preceding, insomuch that some have esteemed 

 it a young bird of that species. 



YUNX TORQUILLA The Wryneck ; Cuckoo's Mate: Above ash 

 colour, with black and brown strokes, beneath light brown, with 

 black spots, tail ash colour, with four black bars, irides hazel, weight 

 one ounce and a quarter, length seven inches : migrates with the 

 cuckoo, with whom it has great affinity in other respects. 



ALCEDO ISPIDA The King Fisher : Bill, upper mandible black, 



