COMMON JAY. 15 



Family CORVID/E. Genus Garrulus, 



COMMON JAY. 



Garrulus glandarius {Lvnia-us). 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, April and May. 



British breeding area : The Jay, in spite of con- 

 stant persecution, breeds more or less sparingly through- 

 out the woodland districts of England and Wales. In 

 many places where game is not very strictly preserved, 

 and feathered marauders allowed to dwell in peace, the 

 Jay is a common bird. In Scotland it is much more 

 local and slowly becoming scarce, from the same causes, 

 although its range has been extended with the planting 

 and growth of trees. Its principal quarters in Scotland 

 are the central counties, as far north as Inverness-shire ; 

 it does not, however, breed in the Hebrides, and is only 

 a straggler to the Shetlands. In Ireland, where it has 

 also decreased in numbers, its chief breeding area is now 

 in the south-east, in the area confined by the rivers 

 Barrow and Suir. 



Breeding habits : The principal breeding-grounds 

 of the Jay are the game coverts, woods, and plantations 

 where the underwood is dense and leafy. The bird is 

 particularly fond of covers where evergreens are plentiful, 

 and is thus specially addicted to shrubberies. In all 

 cases, however, the Jay will nest most abundantly where 

 the cover is thickest. In my opinion this handsome bird 

 is a life-paired species, and may be seen in company 

 with its mate all through the year. As the breeding 

 season approaches the Jay becomes much less noisy and 

 even more skulking in its movenients, so that it often 

 safely rears a brood in a cover where its presence has 

 never been suspected. The site for the nest is seldom 

 at any great altitude from the ground, the cover usually 



