316 AMERICAN MAGPIE. 



within range of one of these picket-guards, and at the report of fny gun, scores of birds, 

 of whose presence I was entirely unaware, have sprung up from the bushes all around, 

 where they had been feeding in perfect silence, t once procured several specimens unex- 

 pectedly and unintentionally, the birds having come to feed upon the carcass of a horse 

 I had poisoned to secure wolves. Six or eight Magpies were found dead next morning, 

 besides several coyotes and a skunk. It is stated. that this method has also been success- 

 folly employed to destroy the birds, when, from their numbers and under stress of 

 hunger, they proved a nuisance by alighting oa the sore backs of horses and mules to 

 pick at the raw flesh. An Indian boy at Fort Randall succeeded in capturing a number 

 alive with a common 'figure-of-four' trap, showing that their native cunning is some- 

 times at fault. During the whole season of 18t3 I did not see a single Magpie along 

 the northern border of Dakota." 



The following observations, made by Mr. M. Trippe in Colorado, will be read 

 with interest: 



"Common; resident; breeds. The Magpie abounds from the plains up to 10,000 

 feet, rarely venturing higher than that limit, while it is most numerous below 8,500. 

 It is a social bird, although not gregarious, being usually found in pairs or small parties 

 of from three to six or eight, but quite often goes alone. It is very "voracious, living 

 upon seeds, carrion, insects, etc., and being especially fond of the eggs and young of 

 other birds, of which it destroys very great quantities. It is easily caught and tamed, 

 even when old, and soon becomes very cunning and mischievous, exhibiting the same 

 traits as the Crow, and, like that bird, is said to imitate the human voice with some 

 aptitude. It has almost an infinite variety of notes, some low, gurgling, arid musical, 

 some harsh and discordant, others squeaky and grating. It is very noisy at times, and 

 quite silent at others, when engaged in robbing birds' nests or foraging near dwellings 

 or bams. It has a loud, rapid chatter, uttered as an alarm cry, and, with its extensive 

 vocabulary, seems at no loss to convey its iddas to its fellows. It prefers, as a rule, 

 the vicinity of streams, and the brushy valleys, but often wanders among the pine 

 groves on the hill-sides, and pays frequent visits to the vicinity of slaughter houses. It 

 is common along road-sides, where its bright plumage and harsh cries attract the 

 attention of the traveler. The Magpie is not a shy bird, but if frequently shot at soon 

 learns to keep out of range. Among the foot-hills, the Magpie begins building in April; 

 the nest is quite an elaborate affair, and occupies several days in its construction. It 

 is placed in the fork of a small, bushy tree— vfhich is never a pine— from six to fifteen 

 feet from the ground, and composed externally of stout sticks, ingeniously placed and 

 wedged together. Upon this is a layer of smaller twigs, and then a layer of fine clay 

 one-half or three-quarters of an inch in thickness, which, being applied soft and well 

 worked in, becomes very hard, and binds the whole structure firmly together. On this 

 again is a soft lining of fine twigs, hair, feathers, and any proper material which they 

 can find. Over the whole, rising from the walls of the nest, is a dome of twigs and 

 sticks, very ingeniously and securely woven together, and framing a shelter for the bird 

 while setting. There are two openings, opposite each other, evidently to make room 

 for the long tail of the bird, which could never be brought within the nest. The eggs 

 are five, of a pale greenish, very thickly obscured with spots and dashes of pale purplish- 



