AmTiquing Trivia:

American Magpie

Trade Card for Arm & Hammer baking soda; M E Eaton, artist.
The bird life of western North America exhibits a greater affinity with that of the Old World than does the avifauna of the Eastern States. One of the birds found only west of the Mississippi is the Magpie, a race of the well-known European species. Magpies are close relatives of Jays and Crows and, like them, are famous for their cleverness. They are noisy and conspicuous birds, but adepts at keeping quiet and eluding observation when their lives are in danger. In light the white in the wings is conspicuous. The Magpie's nest is usually placed in bushes or trees within twenty-five feet of the ground. It is a great round mass of sticks, sometimes as large as a bushel basket. A hole in the side leads to the center where the six or seven spotted eggs are laid in a cup-like nest of mud, grass, and rootlets.

The ClassyArts Digital Image Collection