420 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSEBES— OSCINES. 
low. Length about 16.00 ; wing and tail about 8.00, the gTaduation of the latter about 2.00 ; 
bill 1.25. Rio Grande Valley and southward. 
110. PI^CA. (Lat. pica, a pie.) Magpies. Tail extremely long, when fuUy developed forming 
more than i the total length, graduated for about i its own length ; the feathers with rounded 
ends, the middle pair at least tapering, and specially lengthened beyond the rest. Bill of ordi- 
nary corvine shape ; nos- 
trils concealed by long na- 
sal tufts. Wings short and 
rounded, with very short, 
narrow, falcate first pri- 
mary. Feet stout; tarsus 
little longer than middle 
toe and claw. Head not 
crested. A naked space 
about eye. Plumage black, 
iridescent, with masses of 
white; bill black or yel- 
low. Sexes alike. Habits 
arboreal and somewhat ter- 
restrial, — very irregular, 
in fact, a magpie's general 
character being none of 
the best, though the ge- 
neric characters are ex- 
cellent. 
P. rus'tica hudson'ica. 
(Lat. riistica^vn^tiQ,, rural; 
rus, ruris, the country. 
Of Hudson's Bay. Fig. 
273.) Magpie. Lustrous 
black, with green, purple, 
violet, and even golden 
iridescence, especially on 
the tail and wings. Be- 
low, from the breast to the 
crissum, a scapular patch, 
and a great part of the in- 
ner webs of the primary 
quills, white ; some whit- 
ish touches on the throat ; 
lower back showing gray, 
owing to mixture of white 
with black ; bill and feet 
FIG. 273. - Magpie, reduced. (From Dixon. ) ^j^^l^ . ^^^^ blackish. 
Length 15 or 20 inches, according to the development of the tail, which is a foot or less long, 
extremely graduated ; extent about 2 feet; wing about 8.00, the outer primary short, slender, 
and falcate; bill 1.25 ; tarsus 1.67; middle toe and claw 1.50. 9 rather smaller than but 
alike in color. Arctic Amer. and U. S. from Plains to Pacific, except California ; common. 
The American magpie is extremely similar to the notorious bird of Europe, and attempts to 
establish specific characters have failed. It is a rather larger and better" bird, though quite 
34T. 
