CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK AND WHITE 387 



were as yet only promises. These developed with sur- 

 prising rapidity, and when the mature age of three weeks 

 was reached, were as long as babies could manage. For 

 several days there had been restless little heads pok- 

 ing out of the doorways, and on the twenty-second day 

 one youngster, assisted by much clamor on the part of 

 the excited parents, hopped out and sat on a branch. I 

 came too near for his comfort, and away he flew or blew, 

 for his long tail refused to conduct itself in proper mag- 

 pie fashion and filled with wind like a sail, pushing him 

 helplessly before it. One parent followed his adven- 

 tures, while the other remained to guard the three left 

 in the nest. These were looking out with longing eyes. 

 Thinking four babies too much for one mother to care 

 for, I resolved to appropriate one of them. It proved 

 a very amusing pet, crossing the continent with me, 

 and eventually became one of the magpie colony at 

 Lincoln Park, Chicago, where it still exists. While 

 with us it learned to say a number of words quite dis- 

 tinctly, as well as to mimic the bark of a dog, the whine 

 of a puppy, and the mew of a kitten ; it was far more 

 intelligent than my pet crow and no more mischievous 

 than my blue jay. Family characteristics are prominent 

 in the three. 



476. YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE. — Pica nuttalli. 



Family: The Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc. 



Length: 16.00-18.00. 



Adults: Similar to black-tilled magpie, but smaller and with bill and 

 naked skin of orbital region bright yellow. 



