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E. A. AYLMER
In the winter months numbers of these birds may be seen together feeding in the paddy fields. The bird has a habit when feeding on damp ground or grass of elevating its tail to keep it dry. The harsh chuckling cry or chatter of this bird is unmistakable. The worst characteristic of the Chinese Magpie is its habit of killing and devouring young birds, usually fledglings, in a nest, though in mitigation of this crime it must be noted that the bird does kill and eat snakes, not excepting cobras.
The Magpie has a reputation for hoarding food, also small objects which may be carried to the nest. It is generally believed that the Magpie pairs for life; the birds can usually be observed in couples even when in flocks.
RANGE. Resident throughout China.
THE CHINESE BLUE MAGPIE.—(Urocissa erythrorhyncha erythror- hyncha). See Plate No. 14.
FIELD IDENTIFICATION.—This strikingly handsome bird should pre- sent little difficulty in recognition. Bill and legs-coral red, forehead- black, back-slaty-blue, wings and tail deeper blue. A disproportionately long tail, the upper tail covers are tipped black with white on under surface. In flight the two central tail quills are very much extended. Length about 22 inches, over half of which is tail.
NESTING. The nest is a shallow, well made, light structure of twigs lined with grass and rootlets usually placed in a low tree or sapling. One nest found last year was only 12 feet from the ground.
The eggs vary from three to six. The average number of eggs found in nests last year, was four, the first nest being found on the 18th of April. The colour of the eggs varies a good deal, they are of a greenish-yellow, spotted reddish- brown with underlying purplish-grey spots. Measurements of eggs varied between 1.25 inches x 0.87 inch and 1.17 inches x 0.88 inch, HABITS. This bird inhabits the wooded country throughout the colony. Noticeable at once by its graceful gliding flight with the long tail much in evidence, its habits are characteristic of the Jay. Numbers of these birds may be seen together following one another through the trees.
Though as mischievous as the Chinese Magpie in destroying young birds and in addition sucking eggs, this bird will also tackle a snake. Of a quarrelsome disposition it is always ready to fight with its own kind or with the Common Magpie for a feeding ground. Its calls are varied and noisy from a harsh clucking to a musical whistle almost amounting to a song. RANGE. Resident throughout Central and South China.
The following two extracts will show that the magpie has its place in Chinese literature:- "The seventh day of the seventh month is celebrated throughout China in connection with a love-story to which allusion is con- stantly made in Chinese literature. It is said that the Herd-Boy (the star Beta Aquilae) and the Spinning Maiden (Alpha Lyrae), separated through- out the rest of the year by the Milky Way, are allowed to cross a mystic
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
Vol. III No. 2.
THE
May 1932.
HONG KONG NATURALIST
A QUARTERLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL
PRINCIPALLY FOR HONG KONG AND SOUTH CHINA,
EDITED BY
G. A. C. HERKLOTS, Ph.D., M.Sc., F.L.S.
READER IN BIOLOGY, THE UNIVERSITY, HONG KONG,
The Birds of Hong Kong.
CONTENTS.
Page
E. A. Aylmer 77
Part X. The Magpies
The Nest of the White-bellied Sea Eagle Lilium Brownii var. colchesteri
The Flowering Shrubs and Trees of Hong Kong,
Part II.
The Protection of Wild Plants in Hong Kong
The Lam Tsun Valley
The Insect Menace
Maps of Hong Kong
The Mongolian Eye
A Synopsis of the Fishes of China, Part III.
Eels, concluded
Notes and Comments
Ornithology,
Hong Kong Notes.
Nesting Notes.
Ichthyology.
Leucoglossa herklotsi, Herre..
Botany.
Ehretia longiflora, Champ.
Book Review
Climatological Data
E. A. Aylmer 80
G. A. C. Herklots 82
G. A. C. Herklots 87 V. H. C. Jarrett 99 H. P. W. Hutson 106 A. H. Crook III
L. Gibbs 116 D. J. Finn 120
The
H. W. Fowler 126
145
Arrivals and Departures.
Price $2.00. Prepaid Subscription $7.00 per annum post free. Europe, Twelve shillings and six pence; America $3.00 (gold) per annum, post free.
The Newspaper Enterprise Limited, Hong Kong.
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