i6 THE NESTS AND EGGS OE BRITISH BIRDS. 



not being sufficiently dense above the growth of tangled 

 underwood. A situation is generally selected in a tall 

 bush or sapling, especially in a holly, yew, or other ever- 

 green, and less frequently amongst a mass of woodbine 

 or ivy. I have known ths nest to be made in a bunch 

 of twigs and fine branches growing from a tree trunk 

 where a branch has been lopped off. The nest is cup- 

 shaped, and made externally of fine sticks and twigs, 

 occasionally cemented with mud, and thickly lined with 

 fibrous roots right up to the margin. Although made of 

 coarse materials it is very neatly finished. The Jay is 

 non-gregarious during the breeding season. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Jay are from five to seven in number. 

 They are grayish-green or pale bluish-green in ground 

 colour, mottled and speckled over the entire surface 

 with olive-brown, and occasionally streaked with a few 

 scratches or irregular lines of dark liver-brown. In many 

 examples the mottled spots become most numerous and 

 confluent towards the larger end, where they form a dis- 

 tinct zone. The eggs of the Jay do not present much 

 variation, although it is not unusual to find an ^g^ paler 

 than the rest in a clutch. Average measurement, 1*25 

 inch in length, by '9 inch in breadth. Both parents 

 assist in the task of incubation, which extends over a 

 period of eighteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The small size, indistinct 

 character of the markings, and grayish-green appearance, 

 readily distinguish the eggs of the Jay from all the allied 

 British species. 



