517 



bush the moment he sees the Falcon, and will remain there until the falconer arrives, with the 

 Hawk waiting on in the air. The Magpie is to be driven from his retreat ; and the Hawk, if at 

 a good pitch, will stoop at him as he passes to another bush, from whence he is to be driven in 

 the same way, another Hawk having been previously cast off, so that one or the other may 

 always be so situated as to attack him with advantage. The second Hawk is necessary ; for the 

 Magpie shifts with great cunning and dexterity to avoid the stoop ; and when hard pressed, 

 owing to the bushes being rather far apart, will pass under the bellies of the horses, flutter along 

 a cart-rut, and avail himself of every little inequality of the ground in order to escape. Four or 

 five assistants, besides the falconer, who should attend solely to his Hawks, are required for this 

 sport. They should be well mounted, and provided with whips ; for the Magpie cannot be 

 driven from a bush by a stick ; but the crack of a whip will force him to leave it, even when he 

 is so tired as hardly to be able to fly. The Magpie will always endeavour to make his way to 

 some strong cover; care therefore must be taken to counteract him, and to drive him to that 

 part of the ground where the bushes are farthest from each other. It is not easy to take a 

 Magpie in a hedge. Some of the horsemen must be on each side of it ; some must ride behind 

 and some before him ; for unless compelled to rise, by being surrounded on all sides, he will 

 flutter along the hedge, so as to shelter himself from the stoop of the Falcon. Many requisites 

 are necessary to afford this sport in perfection — a favourable country, good Hawks, and able 

 assistants." 



Before closing this article I feel bound to add that Dr. Otto Finsch writes that he does not 

 agree with me in uniting P. hudsonica with P. rustica, and looks on the former as being a good 

 geographical race, having always the white patch on the feathers of the throat, the tail longer 

 than in P. rustica, and the two central feathers extending further beyond the others. He 

 likewise says that he can confirm from personal observation what Prince Max von Wied states 

 as to the note of the American Magpie being different from that of our bird. He found the 

 American Magpie occurring sporadically throughout the Rocky Mountains, first observing it on 

 the road to Georgetown, at an altitude of from 7000 to 8000 feet above the sea-level, and again 

 on the Humboldt river. On the plains he never saw it. 



The specimen figured and described is in my collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser, 

 a, b, $> . Hampstead (Davy), c, 6, d, $. Piedmont (Count Salvadori). 



E Mus. Brit. Beg. 



a. Belgium, b, c. Oporto, d. Seville, Spain (Irby). e. Erzeroom. /. Asia Minor, g. Hainan, March 1860 

 (Swinhoe). h. Japan, i, k. British Columbia (/. K. Lord). I, m. W. of Rocky Mountains. 



E Mus. Howard Saunders. 



a, 2- Silesia, b, 6. Girgenti. c, 6 , d, 6 . Granada, October. e,f, d,g, ?. Granada, November, h, ?'. 

 Granada, January, i, $ . Granada, May. k, ? . Sierra Nevada, June. 



