BLUE JAY 



A BIRD OF CHARACTER 



{Fig. 20) 



MAN who possessed Blue Jay's 

 character and voice would be far 

 from popular. But we must not 

 judge birds by the standards we 

 apply to men. 

 If Blue Jay's call is a loud, 

 harsh "jay-jay," we must remember that he Is speak- 

 ing the language of Jays. If his manner seems over- 

 bearing and if he sometimes robs smaller birds of 

 their eggs, we must not forget that the only rules 

 of conduct he knows are those of other Blue Jays. 

 While, therefore, we may not altogether approve of 

 the ways of Jays, we should not blame Blue Jay for 

 adopting them. 



We cannot make friends with Blue Jay as we do 

 with Chickadee, but as I look back over my long 

 acquaintance with him and his kind, I discover what 

 I think is an improvement in his habits. When first 

 I met him he was a bird of the woods and distant 



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