OF BIRDS. 
115 
MAGPIE. 
The Magpio is too well known to need 
description. Indeed, were its other accom- 
plishments equal to its beauty ; few birds 
could be put in competition with it. Its black, 
its white, its green, and purple, with the 
rich and gilded combination of the glosses 
on its tail, are as fine as any that adorn the 
most beautiful of the feathered tribe. But it 
has too many of the qualities of a beau , to 
depreciate these natural perfections. Vain, 
restless, loud, and quarrelsome, it is an un- 
welcome intruder every where; and never 
misses an opportunity to do mischief. This 
bird, in its domestic state, preserves its na- 
tural character with strict propriety. The 
same noisy, mischievous habits attend it to 
the cage, that marked it in the woods ; and 
being more cunning, so it is also a more 
docile bird than any other. 
