478 AVES—MAGPIE. 
There is a variety of this bird in Switzerland, which has a white collar 
round its neck ; and in Norway and other cold countries, they have been 
found perfectly white. They are not found in America. 
Js about eighteen inches in length. The head, neck, and breast are of a 
deep black, finely contrasting with the snowy whiteness of the under parts ; 
the‘neck feathers are very long, and extend down the back, leaving only a 
small space, of a grayish ash color, between them and the tail coverts, which 
are black ; the plumage in general is glossed with green, purple, and blue, 
which catch the eye in different lights; the tail is very long and wedge- 
shaped; the under tail-coverts, thighs, and legs, are black; on the throat 
and part of the neck, there is a kind of feathers, mixed with the others, re- 
sembling strong whitish hairs. Indeed, were its other accomplishments 
equal to its beauty, few birds could be put in competition. Its black, its 
white, its green, and purple, with the rich and gilded combination of the 
1 Corvus pica, Lin. 
