138 
BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. 
feed on juniper berries. The nest is formed in the 
crevices of rocks about midway up the cliff, so as to 
be out of reach of danger botli from below and above. 
Tlie eggs are usually about four or five in number, 
rather longer than those of the Jackdaw, of a dull 
white colour, with spots of asli colour and pale brown. 
Mr, Macgillivray, in his “ History of British Birds,” 
has given the following characteristic sketch of the 
liabits of the Magpie. It is generally distributed in 
Britain, being more or less common in all the culti- 
vated and wooded districts of England and Scotland, 
both in the interior and along the coast, although no- 
wliere numerous, on account of the hostility of game- 
keepers, gardeners, and sportsmen of all degrees. 
There, on the old ash that shadows the farm-yard, you 
may see a pair, one perched on the topmost twig, the 
other hopping among the brandies, uttering an inces- 
sant chatter of short hard notes, scarcely resembling 
anything else in nature, but withal not unpleasant, at 
least to the lover of birds. How gracefully slie of the 
top twig swings in the breeze. Ofi’ she starts, and 
directing her flight towards the fir wood opposite, pro- 
ceeds with a steady, moderately rapid, but rather 
hea\y fiigiit, performed by (piick beats of her appa- 
rently short wings, intermitted for a moment at in- 
tervals. Chattering by tlie way, she seems to call her 
mate after her ; but he, intent on something which 
lie has spied, liops downwards from twig to branch, 
and descends to the ground. Eaising his body as 
high as possible, and carrying his tail inclined upwards, 
to avoid contact with the moist grass, he walks a few 
paces, and spying an earthworm half protruding from 
