THE MAGPIE. 15 



and enriched with spots varying in hue from bright 

 red to dull brown. In respect to refreshments, on 

 the other hand, besides exhibiting the family readiness 

 to take whatever comes to hand, she is a true crow 

 in having as frugal a mind as John Gilpin's wife, 

 and in time of plenty will lay up stores for a rainy day. 

 This I found out from the only specimen of 

 the bird I ever kept, discovering that it had laid up 

 bits of meat in various parts of its large cage soon 

 after receiving the ration. 



To whatever cause we may ascribe the result, the 

 oommon Indian Pie is a very successful bird, and 

 extends its range nearly all over the Empire from 

 <])ashmeie to Tenasserim ; and, although quite at 

 home in the sweltering atmosphere of the plains 

 ascends the Himalayas up to 7,000 feet, and thrives 

 particularly well there, hill specimens being of larger 

 growth than those bred lower down. This is curious, 

 for our cinnamon friend has a relative which is a 

 thorough mountaineer, never living in the plains, 

 though I have seen it as low down as Rajpore in the 

 Doon. And this bird is smaller than the common 

 one, although living under the same conditions in 

 which its rival so adds to its stature. This hill 

 Tree-pie (Dendrocitta himalayensis) is not so 

 handsome a bird as its more widely distributed 

 reliative, its prevailing hue being a dark iron-grey. 



