Identifier: americannaturalh02hornuoft (find matches)
Title: The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America
Year: 1914 (1910s)
Authors: Hornaday, William Temple, 1854-1937
Subjects: Natural history -- North America
Publisher: New York : C. Scribner's sons
Contributing Library: Gerstein - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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dscolds while he does it. The magpie will hold a fifteen-minute conversation with you, and tell you of all his troubles.Go where you will in the United States, some of the twentyspecies of birds of this Family will cheerfully bear you com-pany. The American Magpie,^ of the somewhat wild West,is a beautiful and showy bird, and in winter it bravely strivesto adorn the bare and bleak valleys, foot-hills, divides andmountain sides of the Rocky Mountain region. In the wholeof the West, I know of no bird more beautiful in flight thanthis. Its plumage is half glossy-purple black, and half snowwhite; and this, with its long tail streaming after it in itsflight, makes it a very striking object. In winter the absenceof other birds renders the Magpie trebly conspicuous andwelcome. Its flight is slow, dignified, and as straight as anarrow. The Magpie is fatally fond of fresh meat, and many afine bird meets its death by devouring poisoned meat laid 1 Pica pica hud-soni-ca. Length, about 18 inches.
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THE AMERICAN MAGPIE 323 out for wolves. If hospitably received, this bird will comeclose to the haunts and camps of man, investigating every-thing, and looking for scraps of food. If not fired at, it soonbecomes very friendly, and a small cabin easily becomes thehaunt of a score of birds. Some of those in the Fljing Cageof the New York Zoological Park are at times as amusing asmonkej^s. They come close up to the wires, and when thevisitor bends down, to listen or converse, they actually talk—in their language. In low, confidential tones they tell oftheir fear of the big condor, the painful pecks they get fromthe herons, and the greediness of the ducks in devouring allof their kind of food. In the days of elk and buffalo slaughter, the Magpiesfeasted continually upon fresh meat. Now they make friendswith the ranchmen, and eat all kinds of food. This interestingl)ird ranges from Alaska, and the edge of the arctic barrens,southward through the great plains and mountains to thearid regi

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