90 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XIII 
one hand, and idle loafers or sight-seers, on the other. In the winter of 1902-1903, 
and that of 1903-1904, I kept a stack of prairie-hay, another of oat-fodder, and a 
third of squawcorn stalks with the ears left on. These stacks proved a great at- 
traction to the birds. They stood a little distance from the dwelling house, on the 
bleak plain, and high above the flood-plain of Medicine Root Creek, which lies 
two-score rods to the west. To the east are the treeless higher hills, and to the 
south and southeast rise other hills upon which grow groups of pines ( P/uiis 
poiderosa scopuloriim) . The creek-plain, which lies far below the general sur- 
face of the adjacent country, is densel>- covered with a growth of deciduous trees 
and shrubs. 
At all times to the dooryard came the Magpies {Pica pica hndsonia). Mis- 
chievous and thievish though they are, I know of no other birds among all my 
acquaintances more attractive and charming than they. Whilst watching their 
antics and hearkening to their friendly, conversational chattering, one can almost 
forget that at some time or other the very birds that he is ob.serving may have 
killed and eaten by inches the saddle-galled pony of a Siouan “brave.” Each 
winter, among the sixteen or twenty Pies that made daily visits to search for 
edible matter among such refuse as had been thrown out, came one or more that 
had parted with their tail-feathers. These appendages, the Indians informed me, 
had been left in some steel tra]) set for small four-footed game. The tailless in- 
dividuals, however, as it seemed to me, were about as well off as were those that 
still were “whole”; for wdien the latter leave the sheltered groves that border the 
water-courses, and ascend to the higher ground, I have noticed that they are con- 
siderably inconvenienced, in the high winds, by having such large caudal append- 
ages. In the mornings, when one is trying to muster self-command enough to 
persuade himself to rise, outside the window can be heard the chattering and scold- 
ing of a dozen or more of these birds. Only at the time of courtship and nest' 
building are their visits to the doorstep comparatively rare. Curiosity certainly is 
an element in their mental make-up. On one occasion I saw sixteen of them 
gathered round a domestic cat, all sitting very still, intently watching the feline, 
and jumping quickly and nimbly back at his slightest movement. Nevertheless, as 
a rule, they seemed to have little, if any, fear of this cat. He and they were 
often to be seen together culling edibles from a box of ganbage. 
At another time, however, and in another place, the cat in the case did not 
fare so well. One morning at Grass Creek, South Dakota, I was awakened by the 
excited shrieking and chattering of Magpies. On going to the window I saw an 
old house cat in a couchant attitude, about two rods from the door of the cottage. 
His tail was coiled closely about his feet — for safe keeping, as developments 
presently showed; and he appeared ill at ease as he watched a pair of Pies that 
were hopping about him, their dark eyes glistening with deviltry. At length the 
cat rose and started to walk toward the doorstep. Immediately, first one bird and 
then the other hopped quickly forward and nipped the end of Tom’s tail with its 
bill. All that the cat did to show his resentment was to turn half round with a 
protesting “meow!”, after which he squatted down again. When he arose once 
more the whole performance was repeated, and it was only when the feline reached 
the stoop that he was suffered to rest in peace. It is said that jack rabbits are some- 
times harrassed by these avian mischief-makers in like manner. 
Often one (and, I think, always the same) individual of the flock of Magpies 
at Medicine Root \'alley would reply to a teasing chatter uttered by a person in 
the house, and whilst so doing would approach very near to the door or window 
whence came the challenge. Magpies when tamed may be taught to articulate a 
