THE MAGPIE. 
l 99 
solution of gum arabic, one layer being allowed to dry before 
the next is added. When they are dry, a little hole is easily 
drilled on one side by means of a needle, the contents of the 
egg are then broken up with the same needle, and are washed 
out by injecting water through a very delicate glass tube. Any- 
one can make these slender tubes by merely taking a piece of 
ordinary glass tubing, heating it in a spirit lamp, and drawing 
the ends apart. It may then be broken off to form a tube of 
any degree of fineness, and by alternate injection of water and 
sucking the diluted contents into the tube, the egg will soon be 
emptied. The paper is removed by soaking in warm water. 
We have another well-known bird, which makes a nest as 
well domed as that of the long-tailed titmouse, though not 
nearly so pretty nor so elegant. This is the common Magpie 
(Pica caudata). 
The nest of the Magpie is of very large size when compared 
with the dimensions of the architect, probably on account of 
the long tail of the mother bird, which cannot be protruded 
over the edge of the nest, as is the case with many long-tailed 
birds. It is not merely made of moss and similar soft sub- 
stances, but the framework is very strongly constructed of 
sticks, among which are generally interwoven a number of 
sharp thorns, so that the nest is nearly as unpleasant to the 
bare hand as a thistle. Moreover, the bird has a way of 
gathering the thorns round the entrance, so that the hand can- 
not be inserted into the nest without danger of many wounds. 
Indeed, the nest is so large, and the eggs lie so far from the 
entrance, that to extract them is generally a task that cannot 
be accomplished without the aid of a knife. 
Besides the thorny defence, the nest is mostly strengthened 
by its very position, being generally fixed in the furcation of 
several stout boughs, so that it can only be approached in 
certain parts. Moreover, the great height at which the Magpie 
loves to build the nest renders the operation of robbing it so 
dangerous, that many a nest escapes because no one has nerve" 
enough to risk the ascent. 
