Norfolk Magpies A number of accounts reached me during a
recent visit to Gloucester- shire of the increase in the number of magpies and a corresponding increase in the boldness of their thievery. A similar experience is now recorded from Norfolk. It seems, according to the }ear's record (a singularly interesting pamphlet) of the Norfolk Naturalists' Trust, that one flock of between thirty and forty was 'flushed from a hedge-row. The magpie is an amusing bird ; but, as has been noticed in France, where the species almost monopolises some areas, the more magpies and crows the fewer small birds. Nearly all the crow tribe—with the rook as the least crimiyal—are death to nests and young birds ; and perhaps I may risk a list in order of criminality: carrion crow, magpie, jay, jackdaw, rook and raven. I have seen members of the first pair destroy young chicks, and I think they are by a good interval the most destructive.
Previous page
