Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1893-03-03
THE MEANEST OF BIRDS.
THE MACPIE BEARS AN UN-
SAVORY REPUTATION.
IN n Chronic state OF Hunger He Eats
Anything He Finds-He Has th'
Faults of Crows and Jays
and Not Their Virtue.


like industry, his wonderful ability |
to take care of number one. but It is |
only as we admire the genius of the |
burglar or the skill of the pick !
pocket. There is nothing about him
that can be really liked.
He seems to be in chronic state of |
hunger; his life is one OF constant |
search for something to fill his ca
pacious crop. He may turn aside |
now and then to brawl with some OF
his fellows, or with crowd of cow
ardly companions, to tease the life |
out of some smaller bird; but even
his flights and his frolics have to do
with the question of IA dinner
Once on the roadside, i found "a COM
pany of these birds formed in an IT,
regular circle around two combatants
who were down in the sand engaged
in fierce struggle. writes James
Newton Basket in Youths Compan-
ion. There was wonderful flourish
of wing and tail and beak and | sus-
pect the long sharp claws were not
idle.
The birds had so exhausted them
selves that, as drove by they were
just able to llutter few feet apart,
watch me and glare fiendishly at each
other. 1t was in September, so that
it could not well have been an "af-
fair of the heart" ] suppose it was
simply. as usual. an affair of the giz-
zard. =
There is nothing catable that the
]
is said that good, clean grain goes
very hard with him. Flesh. living,
newly dead or decaying. young birds,
| fish, eggs, insects. fruits-he devOurs
them all with equal gusto.
Aside from eating his life is one
persistent chatter. He goes at his
work like whistling boy. Only
when he is robbing some absent birds
nest, or stealing some forbidden
thing from camp or farm yard, does
he cease his jabber; then he knows
the worth of silence as well as any
one.
His notes are many and varied. and
when you come upon a company of
birds unbalanced in the woods, the re
is social and gossipy tone about
their prattle that is really pleasant.
AS | once passed an unoccupied
tent ! was sure that | heard the
voices of children playing just around
the bend of the road but found that
all the sounds of childish laughter,
talking and screaming came from a
flock of these garrulous birds. As
approached them there were clamor-
l., II. ,,f 4 l.,
crowd went fitting from bush to bush
up the mountain side. complaining at
being disturbed
One of the magpie's favorite resorts
is the roadside. especially if the road
) winds along in company with run
ming stream.
He proves u source Of great annoy
|, ance to campers and ranchers in and
, near the mountains. He will steal
! almost anything, and. while he has q
sharp eye for potable goods. he
5 grows wondrously expert at keeping
= out of danger. lie seems to have q
real genius for projectiles. and knows
the range of bird shot better than the
average hunter.
: In the three years camping in the
> Rockies | never had much trouble
a with this noisy thief. Once. in Este,
: Park, Colorado. my tent was under
: tall pine. and for many mornings
S single pie perched on the topmOs
. branch of the tree long before W,
= We're ready to get up and began ,
: series of calls and squawks that mad,
v further sleep impossible.
0 Morning after morning there wa
the pantomime of not overdresset
figure sneaking out under the tent fly
: preceded by a shotgun and folowet
by the mocking laugh of white ant
blueb black bird as he futteret
away far beyond the range of small
shot. But one day the bird miscalci
lated his distance perhaps he hat
grown carelcss-and after that on
morning nap was no longer disturbed
:. His calls had been for the doubl
\ purpose Of finding ont If anyone wa
\ within and of trying to induce som
!. of his companions to come and ties
4 the danger ofthe situation. lie wa
/, too cowardly to venture down himself
so he sat and cried: Heres a find
\ fellows. why don't you come an
is get some OF lt'
One OF the most annoying traits {
$; the magpie Is his habit OF precedin