THE MAPGIE. 333 
baffling the devices of the fowler and the gunner ? What inhabitant of the 
town has not seen him cooped in his wicker dwelling, dull and begrimed 
with the daily smoke, but yet pert as ever, talkative, and a wonderful admirer 
of his dingy plumage and ragged tail ? 
The food of the Magpie is as multifarious as that of the crow or raven, 
and consists of various animal and vegetable substances. It is a determined 
robber of other birds’ nests, dragging the unfledged young out of their homes, 
or driving its bill through their eggs, and thus carrying them away. 
The nest of the Magpie is a rather complicated edifice, domed, with an en- 
trance at the side, and mostly formed at the juncture of three branches, so 
as to afford an effectual protection against any foe who endeavours to force 
admittance into so strong a fortress. Generally the nest is placed at the very 
summit of some lofty tree, the bird usually preferring those trees which run for 
many feet without a branch. The tops of tall pines are favourite localities 
for the Magpie’s nest, as the 
trunk of these trees is bare 
of branches except at the 
summit, and the dark-green 
foliage of the spreading bran- 
ches is so thick that it affords 
an effectual shelter to the 
large and conspicuous edifice 
whichrests upon the boughs. 
When tame, it is a most 
amusing bird, teaching itself * 
all kinds of odd tricks, and 
learning to talk with an ac- 
curacy and volubility little 
inferior to that of the parrot. 
It is, however, a most incor- 
rigibly mischievous bird, and 
unless subjected to the most 
careful supervision is capable ; 
of doing a very great amount MAGPIE. —(Pica caudata.) 
of damage in a wonderfully 
short space of time. I have witnessed a multitude of these exploits, but as 
I have already related many of them in “My Feathered Friends,” the 
reader is referred to the pages of that little work for a tolerably long series 
of new and original Magpie anecdotes. 
' The plumage of this bird is remarkably handsome both in colour and 
form. The head, neck, back, and upper tail-coverts are deep black, with a 
light green gloss in certain lights ; and the same colour is found on the 
chin, the throat, the upper part of the breast, and the base, tips, and 
outer edges of the primary quill feathers. The secondaries are also 
black, but with a blue gloss, which becomes peculiarly rich on the tertials and 
wing-coverts. The inner web of the primaries is white for a considerable 
portion of its length, presenting a bold and conspicuous appearance when 
the bird spreads its wings. The central feathers of the tail are nearly eleven 
inches in length, and they decrease gradually in size ; those on the exterior 
being hardly five inches long. Their colour is a wonderfully rich mixture 
of the deepest blue, purple, and green, the green being towards the base, and 
the blue and purple towards the extremity. The under surface of the tail- 
feathers is dull black. The lower parts of the breast, abdomen, and flanks 
are snowy white. 
OF the next little group of Corvidz, named the Pyrrhocoracine, or Scarlet 
