246 
MAGPIE. 
cuneated ; wings with the fourth quill long- 
est, the two preceding graduating, the first 
short, and narrowing for two-thirds of its 
length. Pica melanoleuca. 
Europe, America, Asia. 
The Magpie, Pica melanoleuca — Corvus 
pica, Linn. — Garrulm pious, Temm. Supp. p. 
63 . — Magpie of British authors Although the 
principal colours of the Magpie are only two, yet 
from the manner in which they are contrasted, 
and from the brilliant reflected tints by which 
they are varied, it is perhaps one of our most 
beautiful birds, while its presence in the midst of 
cultivation, and its active and rather forward 
manners, render it in many countries a favourite, 
while in others it is looked upon with a kind of 
superstition. The natural localities of the Mag- 
pie seem to be a district partially wooded, 
where there are no vast tracts of forest, no moun- 
tainous elevation, but ground, through which 
it can ramble, and where it can find shelter at 
night or from the storm, in the natural groves 
with which it is interspersed. In Britain, it is 
now nearly a constant attendant on cultivation, 
and is very generally distributed except in the 
