MAGPIE. Nuttall, Bonaparte, and Swain son regard the magpie of America and Europe as identical, and Audubon approved their, judg ment. Its range is *enerally throughout Europe, but in this country it is restricted to the western and northern regions. It is stated by Dr. Richard son that it has not been seen nearer to the Atlantic on this continent than the head of Red River, in Louisiana. It dwells in the fur coun tries of the North in winter as well as in summer, and is a common resident of the interior of Texas, western Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri. It suffers from the want of food, but not from cold, in high northern latitudes, where travelers have been almost unable to protect their galled horses from its assaults. Unlike the magpie of Europe, it then has little fear of man, the young especi ally coming to his encampment or habitations, and greedily devouring whatever food they can obtain, even from his hands. The raven is often its companion, but the crow is not found with it. In the central table-land of the Rocky moun tains, the nests of the magpie may be seen, usu ally in low thick bushes, barricaded over and floored with interlaced twigs; and it is common near Monterey, in California. Its common call is pay, pay, and when approaching each other, they practice a low chatter, but utter a monoto nous and gluttonous croak while eating. The accounts of the habits of the European magpie, given by Macgillivray, is recited by Audubon in treating of the American bird. He states that its food consists of testaceous molluscs, slugs, larva;, worms, young birds, eggs, small quadrupeds, carrion, and sometimes grain and fruits of dif ferent kinds, in search of which it frequents the fields, hedges, thickets, and orchards; it occasion ally visits the farm-yards, prowls among the stacks, and perches on the house-tops, whence it sallies to examine any attractive spot. It is prob
ably unjustly accused of picking out the eyes of lambs and sickly sheep; but it eats eggs, or the young of chickens or ducks, when the old are not present to repel it. Its more wary character, in Europe, is the result of the persecution it experi ences because of its depredations. The magpie walks like the crow, but often leaps in a sidelong manner.. It is prompt to apprise its companions of the approach of danger, which it does by a chatter indicating its own fears. The eggs of this species are from three to six in number, and vary in form and color. In general they are regu larly ovate, or a little pointed, more than one and a half inches in length, and nearly or quite an inch across. They are frequently pale-green, freckled all-over with umber-brown and light purple, and sometimes pale blue, or bluish-white, or green ish-white, with smaller spots and dots of the same dark colors, so as very nearly to resemble the eggs of the jay, which, however are smaller. MAHALEB. A species of cherry, used as a grafting_ stock; the fruit affords a violet dye. MAIDEN HAIR. Ferns of the genus Adian tum, a beautiful race.