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CANADA JAY— WHISKY JACK. 



Back wings and tail dull leaden gray, most of the feathers of wings and tail 

 narrowly tipped with white; fore part of head white, hack of head and nape sooty 

 black; throat and sides of the neck white, rest of the under parts ashy gray. 



L., 12.00; W., 5.80; T., 5.80. 



Nest in coniferous trees. Eggs, four or five, light gray, finely marked at the 

 larger end with dots and blotches of slate color and brown, very variable. 



BLACKBIRDS, ETC. 



Bronze Grachle, better known throughout the country as the " Crow Black- 

 bird," is, when in full plumage, a very handsome bird, and may be distinguished 

 from the other so-called iblackbirds by its large size and the brilliant metallic lustre 

 of its feathers. Like the Rook of Europe, it breeds in colonies, and is gregarious 

 at all times of the year. To the farmer, the fruit grower, and the lover of birds 

 generally, this bird is a nuisance. All that can be said in its favor is that it is 

 very beautiful, and that it does, at times, eat a large number of cut-worms, for 

 which it may often be seen v^orking industriously on the lawns and grass fields 

 near its nesting place; but, as against that, it has a heavy record of crimes to 

 answer for. They are early migrants, arriving here about the end of March, and 

 resorting at once to their nesting places. From this time until the oats are sown, 

 they probably feed entirely on insects, but as soon as the grain is in the ground, 

 they visit the newly sown fields and help themselves liberally, varying their diet 

 by taking as many small bird's eggs and young as they can conveniently get at. 

 I have on several occasions seen them attack and carry off young robins, in spite 

 of the vigorous defence set up by the victim's parents and all the friends they 

 could summon to their assistance. The row made by the despoiled nest owners 

 on these occasions, together with the frantic dashes they made at the robber, would 

 be sufficient to shake the nerves of one of the hawk family, but the Crow Black- 

 bird disregards it all and goes off with its prey. 



As soon as the strawberries, cherries, etc., are ripe, these birds display a fond- 

 ness for fruit and a persistency in gratifying it that is maddening to the fruit 

 grower, whose profits dwindle day by day by reason of the visits of these thieves, 

 who will continue to carry it off until the young leave the nest. When the young 

 Grackles can fly, they gather in large flocks and roam about the country all day; 

 roosting together in vast numbers in some marsh every night. The Dundas marsh, 

 near Hamilton, used to be much favored by them for this purpose; it is at this 

 season they do the worst of their mischief to the fields of wheat and oats. Not 

 only do they eat an immense quantity, but as they flutter and struggle in their 

 efforts to balance themselves upon the straw of the standing grain, the}'- thresh 

 out and cause the loss of much more. Nor does the cutting and shocking stop 

 their ravages; they still continue to feed upon it until the last sheaf is in the 

 barn. In the Province of Manitoba, where these birds are abundant, I have seen 

 all the grain threshed out from the ears for a space of ten yards in width around 

 fields which have been selected by them for their feeding ground. In this Pro- 

 vince, they are rarely to be found in sufficient numbers to do as mnch damage as 

 that, nor are they likely to become so, for, although their chief natural enemies, 

 the hawks and owls, have been too much reduced to be able to keep them entirely 

 in check, yet their number is still manageable, and may be kept so by the judicious 

 use of the gun. I advise any one who shoots them, particularly in the early autumn, 

 to try blackbird pie. Whoever does so will, I think, want to repeat the experi- 

 ment. 



