232 
THE MAGPIE. 
NOTES ON THE HABITS OF THE MAGPIE. 
This beautiful frequenter of our woods and plains 
was notorious, two thousand years ago, for pertness 
of character and volubility of tongue. Ovid, who 
knew more of birds than any man of his time, 
gives us an account of a family of young ladies in 
Macedonia, who were all changed into magpies ; 
and he expressly tells us, that they retained their 
inordinate fondness for gabble long after they had 
lost the lovely form of woman. 
" Nunc quoque in alitibus, facundia prisca remansit, 
Rauca garrulitas, studiumque immane loquendi.*' 
And still their tongues went on, though changed to birds. 
In endless clack, and vast desire of words. 
If similar transformations were to take place 
nowadays, I suspect that many a father here in 
England would have to look for his lost daughter, 
chattering amongst the lofty branches of the trees 
in his park. 
I protect the magpie with greater care than, 
perhaps, any other bird, on account of its having 
nobody to stand up for it. Both rich and poor 
seem to entertain so great an antipathy to this gay 
and lively bird in its wild state, that I often wonder 
how the breed has managed to escape utter ex- 
tirpation in this populous district. The country 
gentlemen all agree in signing the death-warrant 
of this friendless bird, because it is known to suck 
