MAG PTE. 
3 
and was hidden from view in the hush. The Falcon might have been within a short distance without 
attracting our notice*. 
The nest is a large and conspicuous structure, placed at times in some lofty tree, and occasionally in a low 
bush or hedge-row. In country districts I have now and then heard it affirmed that the Hedge-Magpie 
is a distinct race. The supporters of this view assert that the bird is smaller than the Magpie that resorts 
to high woods. My own opinion, of course, agrees with the usual judgment, viz. that the British Islands 
contain hut one species. 
I have never heard of the Magpie attempting to cross the North Sea; and it seems by nature unfitted 
for long journeys. I was, however, somewhat astonished, when living in the east of Ross-slure, to notice 
the confiding habits of a few pairs that nested in close proximity to the town of Tain. I particularly 
remarked that their manners and customs most closely resembled those of their Scandinavian cousins; 
indeed in no part of Great Britain have I met with Magpies so regardless of the presence of human 
beino-s. It is true that they did not, like their kinsmen on the opposite coast of Norway, place their 
nests on the dwelling-houses themselves; but they built in small trees in the gardens, and showed little 
more respect for passers-by than this species exhibits in the outskirts of Christiania and in several of the 
neighbouring towns and villages. 
* While the above paragraph was passing through the press, I happened to alight upon an account of an unquestionably degenerate sport 
termed “ Magpie-hawking.” The description given of the actions of the hunted bird so closely resemble those of the specimen I obtained that I am 
convinced a Peregrine must have been the cause of the sudden descent of this Magpie into the thick cover, and also of its subsequent disinclination 
to seek safety by flight. 
