. A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada : the land birds . r attempt to intrude into the rook-ery, as they are apt to do from their instinctive dislike of solitude,severe contests ensue. In the year 1783, a pair of these birds, drivenfrom settling in the general resort in the neighborhood of the ex-change at Newcastle, took refuge, at length, on the spiie of thatbuilding, and though still interrupted by the neighboring Rooks, theycontrived to fix their nest on the top of the vane, and undisturbed bythe noise of the populace below, they reared their young, who, withthe
. A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada : the land birds . r attempt to intrude into the rook-ery, as they are apt to do from their instinctive dislike of solitude,severe contests ensue. In the year 1783, a pair of these birds, drivenfrom settling in the general resort in the neighborhood of the ex-change at Newcastle, took refuge, at length, on the spiie of thatbuilding, and though still interrupted by the neighboring Rooks, theycontrived to fix their nest on the top of the vane, and undisturbed bythe noise of the populace below, they reared their young, who, withthe nest and its owners, were turned about by every change of thewind. They returned and continued to refit the nest for 10 succes-sive years, until the taking down of the spire put an end to theiraerial castle. PICA. (Briss.) MAGPIES. The feathers of the head not erectile. The tail verylong and wedge-shaped. The general color of these birdsis black and white, sometimes variegated, also wholly dark. They advance by leaps instead of steps ; and have usu-ally a low and short MAGPIE. (Pica mdanolcuca, Aud. pi. 357. Corrus pica, Lin. Wilson, iv. p. 35. fig. 2. Pica Hudsonica, Boxap. C. Hudsonica, Sabine.) Spec. Charact. — Of a deep velvety black; the belly, primaries onthe inner web, and scapulars white ; the tail about 10 inches long,greenish black with bronzed reflections. Tins bird is much more common in Europe than inAmerica, being confined in this country to the northernregions, and to the plains and table lands or steppes of theRocky Mountains west of the Mississippi. Thence theycontinue to the banks of the Columbia, and on the oppo-site side of northern and temperate Asia, are found inKamschatka, Japan, and China. They are sometimes metwith as far down the Missouri as Boonsborough in the se-verity of winter, driven from the western wilderness, onlyby the imperious calls of hunger. In summer they are sorare, even in the Missouri territory, that from March toOc
Size: 1859px × 1344px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidmanualof, booksubjectbirds
