410 COMMON MAGPIE. 
‘ History of British Birds.” ‘ It is generally distributed in Britain, 
being more or less common in all the cultivated and wooded districts 
of England and Scotland, both in the interior and along the coast, al- 
though nowhere numerous, on account of the hostility of gamekeepers, 
gardeners, and sportsmen of all degrees. ‘here, on the old ash that 
overshadows the farm-yard, you may see a pair, one perched on the 
topmost twig, the other hopping among the branches, uttering an in- 
cessant clatter of short hard notes, scarcely resembling any thing else 
in nature, but witha! not unpleasant, at least to the lover of birds. 
How gracefully she of the top twig swings in the breeze! Off she starts, 
and directing her flight towards the fir wood opposite, proceeds with a 
steady, moderately rapid, but rather heavy flight, performed by quick 
beats of her apparently short wings, intermitted for a moment at in- 
tervals. Chattering by the way, she seems to call her mate after her ; 
but he, intent on something which he has spied, hops downwards from 
twig to branch, and descends to the ground. Raising his body as high 
as possible, and carrying his tail inclined upwards, to avoid contact 
with the moist grass, he walks a few paces, and spying an earthworm 
half protruded from its hole, drags it out by a sudden jerk, breaks it 
in pieces, and swallows it. Now, under the hedge he has found a 
snail, which he will presently detach from its shell. But something 
among the bushes has startled him, and lightly he springs upwards, 
chattering the while, to regain his favourite tree. It is a eat, which, 
not less frightened than himself, runs off toward the house. The Mag- 
pie again descends, steps slowly over the green, looking from side to 
side, stops and listens, advances rapidly by a succession of leaps, and 
encounters a whole brood of chickens, with their mother at their heels. 
Were they unprotected, how deliciously would the Magpie feast, but alas, 
it is vain to think of it, for with fury in her eye, bristled plumage, and 
loud clamour, headlong rushes the hen, overturning two of her young- 
lings, when the enemy suddenly wheels round, avoiding the encounter, 
and flies off after his mate. 
There again, you perceive them in the meadow, as they walk about, 
with elevated tails, looking for something eatable, although apparently 
with little success. By the hedge afar off are two boys with a gun, 
endeavouring to creep up to a flock of plovers on the other side. But 
the Magpies have observed them, and presently rising fly directly over 
the field, chattering vehemently, on which the whole flock takes to 
wing, and the disappointed sportsmen sheer off in another direction. 
