154 



BLUE JAY 



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Fig. 78. 

 Blue Jay : Cyanocittn cristata. 



Crest and upper parts piiri^lish ; wings and tail blue, marked with 

 black and white ; under parts gray, with black collar extending 

 up across the back of the head. Length, about 11| inches. 



Geographic Distribution. — Eastern North America ; breeds 

 from Florida to Newfoundland ; westward to Texas and Man- 

 itoba ; generally resident throughout its range. 



The Blue Jay, one of our handsomest and most 

 vivacious birds, like the Nuthatches and Chicka- 

 dees, may be attracted in winter by suet hung on 

 the trees. Some New England farmers make 

 beds of chaff on which they throw out corn for 

 the Jays, and the birds come for the corn while 

 the snow lasts, but as soon as bare ground aj^pears 

 they are off to find food they like better — mast, 

 the large seeds of trees and shrubs, including 

 acorns, chestnuts, and beechnuts. 



This preference for mast, though depriving us 

 of the Jay's society, is a good thing for the bird, 



