Ahhhh. Another glorious, long-tailed Magpie from Calvert Bowannie. But be warned: these elegant beauties are fragile so please handle them with care. One of us (who shall remain nameless) was in deep admiration over one of our own long-tailed magpies when it dropped (jumped actually) a few inches to land on the desktop. *Ping* went the tail. Sigh. But he's okay now - all recovered and hanging out with the other magpies and birds on our avian shelf in the cabinet. No one ever talks about his traumatic experience ... well, till now, anyway.

Calvert's genius is clear to us in his ability to carve these beautifully balanced birds and then perfectly - PERFECTLY - inlay their wing and tail feathers with pure white Mother-of-pearl shell. Polishing it all up after inlaying the eyes of gorgeous turquoise .. he signs them and delivers them to the area trading posts. I wonder if a few fly away when he's not looking.

There is a story told in Zuni about wives being abducted by "Bison man". It is magpie (or Katetasha which translates "long tailed bird") who carries one husband on her back up the mountain where she enters the cave of Bison man and rescues that wife and others who have similarly been abducted. All are then safely carried down the mountain and back to the safety of the village.

In Zuni, the Rain Priests are the only ones who can wear the feathers of the magpie. There, they are known as "rain birds" for their habit of being active during wet weather. Magpies are no longer in the Zuni area though it is likely it was once part of their range.