286 



THE WANDERING PIE. 



Anotheb and more beautiful member of this group is an Asiatic bird, very com- 

 mon in the natui'alist's shop and in glass cases, and known by the popular and very 

 appropriate name of the "Wan- 

 dering Pie." 



This bird is a native of the 

 Himalayas, and is found in some 

 numbers spread over a large part 

 of India. It is caUed the Wander- 

 ing Pie on account of its habit of 

 ^vandering over a very large extent 

 of country, travelling from place to 

 place and finding its food as it best 

 may, after the fashion of a mendi- 

 cant friar. This custom is quite 

 opposed to the general habits of the 

 I'ies, who are remarkable for their 

 attachment to definite localities, and 

 can generally be found wherever the 

 observer has discovered the partic- 

 tdar spot which they have selected 

 for their home. Mr. Gould sug- 

 gests that its wandering liabit may 



be occasioned by the necessity for wandering i'ie Dendiocittamfa 

 obtaining subsistence, the Wander- 

 ing Pie feeding more exclusively on fruits and other vege- 

 table nutriment than is generally the case with the Crow 

 tribe, and being therefore forced to range over a laige 

 extent of land in search of its food. Indeed, the shoit legs 

 and very long tail of this species quite unfit it for seeking 

 its living on the ground, and clearly point out its arboreal 

 habits. 



The shape of this species is very remaikable. on ac- 

 count of the greatly elongated and elegantly shaped tail, 

 which is colored in a manner equally bold with its form. 

 The genei-al color of this bird is blackish giay upon the 

 upper parts, wanning into cinnamon upon the back. The 

 quiU-feathers of the wings are jetty-black, the wings them- 

 selves gray, and the tail-feathers gray, with a laige, bold 

 bar of black at their extremities. The under suiface of 

 the bird is light grayish-fawn. The two central feathers 

 of the tail are extremely long, and the others are grad- 

 uated in a manner wliich is well exemplified in the accom- 

 panying illustration. Although it api:)ears to be a rather large bird, the aspect is a deceptive 

 one, on account of tlie long tail, which is ten inches in. lengtli, the remainder of the head 

 and body being only six inches long. 



