304 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
of the redgums — and from those redgums there 
poured from a hundred unseen throats of early- 
mating Magpies a chorale of the joy of life unques- 
tioned, which will never be equalled for me by any 
carol of Thrush, or Nightingale's song of the northern 
June in a Surrey copse. 
In the Geelong district the Magpie is universally 
found, exhibiting a preference for lightly timbered 
country. It is rare in the heart of the messmate 
forest, whither it only penetrates as the trees are 
gradually cut out for firewood and settlement extends. 
Probably before the days of the white man the Mag- 
pie's chief home was on the she-oak plains about 
Avalon and to the west of the bay. But it must 
always have abounded on the rivers. The name 
Barwon comes from " Barroworn," the local aboriginal 
word for the Magpie ; we see it also in the form 
" Parwan," a place near Bacchus Marsh. 
The adult male may be distinguished by his pure 
white back. The backs of the female and young are 
clouded with grey. 
The food of the Magpie in its wild state consists 
of insects, with a little grain when obtainable. At 
Bambra, Mr. Mulder found that they would readily 
shell and eat choice garden-peas, but left dun peas 
alone. 
In flight the Magpie, which is a very strong bird 
on the wing and will fly a mile or more at a height 
of two or three hundred feet, may be distinguished 
by his regular and sustained wing-beats and the fact 
