1874 Birds. 



impatient of confinement, after a very few days I clipped a wing, and turned it loose, 

 when it proved extremely tame, and a most entertaining pet. It would come readily 

 to my call, and climb all over me, in order to partake of my hard biscuit. It was 

 soon upon the best possible terms with my dog, a mongrel terrier, which would even 

 permit the bird to try, as if in jest, to take away the bone he might be gnawing ; and 

 frequently, when the dog was basking in the sun, flat upon his side, the magpie would 

 pinch — in the most gentle manner — his tail, toes and ears, pick his teeth, and even 

 poke his beak into the other's nostrils and ears, without the latter manifesting the 

 slightest resentment, though he never could bear the bird jumping upon him, which 

 he generally finished by doing, when he forthwith received " notice to quit," no doubt 

 on account of the uneasiness occasioned by his claws. This bird often invited me to 

 play at hide and seek with him, by darting backwards and forwards among the flowers 

 in a very significant manner ; his actions in which proceeding will, I imagine, explain 

 another, which I have many times observed among his congeners. In some districts, 

 where game-preserving is carried to a great extent, the race of magpies is nearly ex- 

 terminated, and even in others it is much less numerous now than in my younger days. 

 Still there probably are some parts of the country, where it may be yet possible, by 

 watching, to see what I have been amused by, namely, the assemblage of a dozen or 

 more of the birds in a field, when from time to time a party of three or four will start 

 forth, hopping hither and thither, and changing places, precisely as if they were 

 dancing a reel. In all these cases I conceive, from the frolicsome disposition displayed 

 by my bird, that the others must be engaged in a game of play. In the ' Journal of a 

 Naturalist' it is stated, as above, p. 189, that the magpie " generally lays eight or ten 

 eggs;" but from my own recollection, aided by enquiry, I should say that the num- 

 ber is rather over-rated, six or seven being the usual amount, though sometimes eight 

 might be found. My last bird was very useful in destroying grubs, wood-lice, and the 

 like, in the garden, though he found too much amusement in pushing off my apples. 

 However I regretted much when he met the usual fate of such pets, an untimely end. 

 — Arthur Russey ; Tonbridge, August 14, 1847. 



Remarks on the Nests and Eggs of the Wood-Warblers. — I have now before me the 

 nests of these warblers, which were found during the early part of the present month; 

 and as they bear considerable resemblance in their general formation, probably an ac- 

 count of their respective differences may not be unacceptable to some of your readers. 

 The nest of the wood-warbler (Phyllopneuste sylvicola) is more loosely constructed than 

 those of its congeners, and it differs somewhat in being more oval in form. The outer 

 materials of which it is constructed consist of moss, dead leaves, and the culms of our 

 coarser grasses. The lining is formed of fine grasses, with the addition of a few hairs. 

 The total absence of feathers readily distinguishes it from the nests of its two allies. 

 The nest of the chiffchaff (P. hippola'is), though outwardly constructed of similar ma- 

 terials, is more compact in form, and the tiny architect usually lays a substantial 

 foundation, previously to constructing his fabric. The interior of the nest is lined 

 with the more slender of our grasses, chiefly the Agrostida;, a few soft feathers being 

 substituted in place of hair. The nest of the willow- warbler (P. trochilus) is interme- 

 dial in structure, neither so neat as that of the chiffchaff, nor so carelessly put together 

 as that of the wood-warbler. Its interior is formed of feathers and dry grass, as is the 

 case with that of the chaffinch, though probably the feathers predominate in the nest 

 of the willow-warbler. The eggs are readily distinguished : those of the wood-warbler 

 are much the largest, and are thickly mottled with dark purple ; those of the willow- 



