In confinement it must be fed like the jay; but it is more easily tamed, and accustomed to use different words. It is so fond of animal food, that if a live jay were thrown into its cage it would kill it and eat it in a quarter of an hour; it will even eat whole squirrels which have been shot, and which other small birds of prey fly from with disgust.
Breeding.—Its nest, placed in a hollow tree, generally contains five or six eggs, with transverse brown streaks scattered on a dark olive grey ground. The young are reared on meat.
Mode of Taking.—It may be taken in autumn by a noose, hanging service berries to it; success is more sure if some nuts be put near. It may also be taken in the water-trap.
Attractive Qualities.—Its actions are as amusing as those of a shrike; it imitates the voice of many animals, and chatters as much as the jay. To judge from the form of its tongue, it seems possible to teach it to speak, if attempted when young.
THE MAGPIE.
Corvus Pica, Linnæus; La Pie, Buffon; Die Elster, Bechstein.
As the magpie generally frequents places near the abode of man, it is well known. It is eighteen inches in length, of which the tail alone measures ten. It may be called a handsome bird, although its plumage is only black and white, for these colours are perfect in their kind, and the tail, near the end, shines with a purple tint, gradually shading into steel blue.