52 
IN SESSORES. 
and familiar a bird, is comparatively little known in 
the United States, its haunts being strictly confined 
to the vast territory 
lying west of the Mis- 
j sissippi, where, in some 
j districts, it appears to 
be abundant. It is 
represented as a bold, 
active, and restless spe- 
cies, constantly flying 
from place to place ; 
being possessed of all 
the voracity peculiar 
to his tribe, and very 
fond of the eggs and 
young of other birds, 
especially Chickens, 
Pheasants, and Par- 
tridges ) it will even 
Magpie. 
alight upon the backs of cattle, and peck out the 
larvae of insects that are secreted in the skin, and is 
quite well satisfied with carrion if no better food is 
at hand. 
“ In 1804, an exploring party, under the command 
of Captains Lewis and Clark, on their route to the 
Pacific Ocean, across the continent, first met with 
the Magpie somewhere near the great bend of the 
Missouri, and found that the number of these birds 
increased as they advanced. Here also the Blue Jay 
disappeared ; as if the territorial boundaries and ju- 
risdiction of these two noisy and voracious families 
