BLACK-AND-WHITE BIRDS. 



MAGPIE. — Plate 9. Length, 18 inches. Head, 

 neck, chest, and upper parts blacjk ; rump grayish- 

 white ; a large pure- white patch lying along each 

 shoulder ; a portion of each of the longer flight- 

 feathers white, but visible only during flight ; remain- 

 ing under parts white ; bill and legs black. Resident. 



Eggs. — Usually 6, but sometimes more, pale bluish- 

 green, closely spotted and speckled with olive-brown, 

 with underlying blotches of faint gi;ay ; 1-4 x l^O inch 

 (plate 121). 



Nest. — Of sticks, on a foundation of turf and clay, 

 and lined with fine roots and grass, the whole covered 

 with a dome of thorny sticks, with an opening for 

 passage in and out, and placed usually in a tall tree, 

 in a fork next the trunk. 



Distribution. — Irregularly distributed throughout 

 Great Britain, rare in East Anglia, but common in 

 and near Wales and in Ireland. 



When the Magpie is seen flying, the short wings 

 beat with recurring spasms of violent activity, and 

 because of the inordinate length of the tail — more 

 than half the total length of the bird itself — the 

 wings appear to be set disproportionately far forward. 

 The flight is extremely laboursome, and leaves the 

 impression that the bird is being held back by some 

 invisible thread attached to its long tail. The feathers 

 of the latter are much graduated, the central ones 



