MAGPIE. 
235 
We were always delighted with the kind feeling evinced 
by the inhabitants of Norway towards the feathered race: 
in some of their houses, holes are cut for the admission 
of the starling ; against others pieces of wood are nailed 
to support the nest of the house martin. At Christmas, 
too, sheaves of com are placed upon the roofs of their 
houses, that their feathered friends may join in the gene¬ 
ral festivity of the season. It is in consequence of this 
kindness that the Magpie walks into their houses with 
pert confidence. In no instance did we see one in the 
forests far from man's dwelling-place ; on the contrary, 
its appearance was always a sure and welcome sign of our 
vicinity to some house. 
The Magpie builds its nest for the most part in trees ; 
sometimes in thorn-bushes and hedges, at a few feet only 
from the ground. The Rev. J. Hall gives the following 
interesting account of a nest of these birds which he met 
with in Scotland : “ On the road between Huntly and 
Portsoy, I observed two Magpies hopping round a goose¬ 
berry-bush in a small garden, near a poor-looking house, 
in a peculiar manner, and flying out and into the bush. 
I stepped aside to see what they were doing, and found, 
from the poor man and his wife, that these Magpies for 
several successive years had built their nest and brought 
up their young in this bush ; and that the foxes, cats, &c., 
might not interrupt them, they had not only barricaded 
the nest, but had encircled the bush with briars and 
thorns in a formidable manner/’ 
Some have supposed that those Magpies which build 
their nests in hedges are of a distinct species, and Mr. Wil- 
mot tells me, that he has usually noticed that their eggs 
were less. My own experience does not corroborate 
his observation. In firmness of texture and strength of 
construction, no piece of architecture of like materials 
