NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 257 



gon, May 30, 1887, he found a nest which on June 4 contained two 

 eggs. This was the first set of these eggs known, and remained unique 

 in collections until a second set was also found near Fort Klamath, 

 by another collector, on June i, 1888, which is now in Mr. Norris' col- 

 lection. The nest was sunken in the ground, and was made of grass, 

 very loosely constructed. It contained four eggs. Two of them have 

 an olive-buff ground-color, while the other two are of a light pea- 

 green. All are thickly speckled with light brown. They are ovate 

 in shape, and measure: .83X.58, .83X.60, .85X.58, .85X.60. 



475. Pica pica liudsonica (Sab.) [286.] 



American Magpie • 



Hab. Western North America (except California), east to the Rocky Mountains, north to Alaska, 

 south to New Mexico and Arizona. 



Known as the Black -billed Magpie. A bird of a bad reputation — 

 a rascal, thief, and a rogue in general, but like the Devil, is not perhaps 

 "as black as he is painted." The camp tales of many a western trav- 

 eler are interspersed with incidents illustrating the tricks and thieving 

 propensities of the Magpie. As pets, their familiarity becomes a de- 

 cided nuisance. A common species on the plains, mountains and hills 

 of Colorado, where it breeds in abundance. The height of the nest 

 from the ground, Mr. Dille says, ranges from six to sixty feet ; they are 

 often built in the branches of a slender sapling, or in a scrubby willow. 

 In the mountains the large black pine tree is this bird's favorite nest- 

 ing site, and often as many as four nests are built in a single tree. 



The nests are large and bulky — a rustic lattice-work of sticks, 

 measuring from two to three feet high, though not more than twelve 

 to eighteen inches in the greatest diameter. The nest has an arched 

 roof, with an opening on the side. Sometimes these dome-shaped 

 roofs and doorways are not very artistically or elaborately made, and 

 the observer is often compelled to put on the finishing touches with 

 his imagination. The sticks are cemented together with mud, and the 

 lining of the nests consist usually of a few grasses or roots. The 

 long tails of the Magpies may be observed protruding from one of the 

 entrances of the nest while incubating. 



The number of eggs varies from five to nine, commonly seven 

 and they are deposited in Colorado as early as the latter part of April, 

 usually, however, in May. Dr. Merrill took a set of eggs at Modoc 

 Point, Oregon, on April 8. The eggs are grayish-white, with a yellow- 

 ish, occasionally with a greenish tinge, spotted, dashed and dotted 

 with markings of purplish or violet-brown ; most thickly around the 

 larger end. Ten eggs measure: 1.32 x. 89, 1.37X.90, 1.38 x. 92, 1.40X 

 .94, 1.34 x. 90, 1.36 x. 89, 1.42 X. 92, 1.34 X. 89, 1.42 x. 87, 1.40 X. 93. Mr. 



18 



