AVES—MAGPIE. A479 
glosses on its tail, are as fine as any that adorn the most beautiful of the 
feathered tribe. But it has too many of the qualities of a beau, to depre- 
ciate these natural perfections: vain, restless, loud, and quarrelsome, it isan 
unwelcome intruder every where; and never misses an opportunity, when it 
finds one, of doing mischief. It is a common bird in Europe and Asia, and 
in the western territories of the United States. It is remarkable that at 
the point where these birds are first encountered, in proceeding west, the 
blue jays disappear. 
The magpie bears a great resemblance to the butcherbird in its bill, which 
has a sharp process near the end of the upper chap, as weil as in the short- 
ness of its wings, and the form of the tail, each feather shortening from the 
two middlemost. But it agrees still more in its food, living not only upon 
worms and insects, but also upon small birds, when they can be seized. <A 
wounded lark, or a young chicken separated from the hen, are sure plunder ; 
and the magpie will even sometimes set upon and strike a blackbird. 
The same insolence prompts it to seize the largest animals when its insults 
can be offered with security. They are often seen perched upon the back 
of an ox or a sheep, picking up the insects to be found there, chattering and 
tormenting the poor animal at the same time, and stretch out their necks for 
combat, if the beast turns its head backward to apprehend them. They 
seek out also the nests of birds; and, if the parent escapes, the eggs make 
up for the deficiency. The thrush and the blackbird are but too frequently 
robbed by this assassin, and this in some measure causes their scarcity. 
No food seems to come amiss to this bird; it shares with ravens in their 
carrion, with rooks in their grain, and with the cuckoo in their eggs: but it 
seems possessed of a providence seldom usual with gluttons ; for when it is 
satisfied for the present, it lays up the remainder of the feast for another 
occasion. It will even ina tame state hide its food when it has done eat- 
ing, and after a time return to the secret hoard with renewed appetite and 
vociferation. 
In all its habits it discovers a degree of instinct unusual to other birds, its 
nest is not less remarkable for the manner in which it is composed, than for 
the place the magpie takes to build itin. The nest is usually placed conspicu- 
ous enough, either in the middle of some hawthern bush, or on the top of 
some high tree. The place, however, is always found difficult of access ; 
for the tree pitched upon usually grows in some thick hedgerow, fenced by 
brambles at the root; or sometimes one of the higher bushes is fixed upon 
for the purpose. When the place is thus chosen as inaccessible as possible 
to men, the next care is to fence the nest above, so as to defend it from all] 
the various enemies of the air. The kite, the crow, and the sparrow-hawk 
are to be guarded against: as their nests have been sometimes plundere¢ 
by the magpie, so it is reasonably feared that they will take the first oppor 
tunity to retaliate. To prevent this, the magpie’s nest is built with surpris 
ing labor and ingenuity. 
