THE CANADA J A Y. 495 



Stream, may discover him in the other end of his boat, pil- 

 laging his bait; the camper-out will be most sure to receive 

 a call from him as soon as his quarters are taken up, and 

 every stray crumb or bit of offal will reveal the motive of 

 his visit; he seeks out the lumberman in the deep forest, 

 and, in the emergencies of winter, will even take food 

 from his hand. Audubon describes a rather cruel amuse- 

 ment of the lumbermen with this bird. " This is done," he 

 says, " by cutting a pole eight or ten feet in length, balancing 

 it on the sill of their hut, the end outside the entrance being 

 baited with a piece of flesh of any kind. Immediately on 

 seeing the tempting morsel, the Jays alight on it, and while 

 they are busily engaged in devouring it, a wood-cutter gives 

 a smart blow to the end of the pole within the hut, which 

 seldom fails to drive the birds high into the air, and not 

 infrequently kills them." 



Exceedingly plain in color, and repulsive, rather than 

 pleasing, in its vocal performances, the Canada Jay is decid- 

 edly graceful, however, in its movements. How emphatic, 

 and peculiar to itself, is that nod of the head as it alights, 

 and there is a peculiar jerk of the wings and tail. When 

 alighting in one of the lower branches of a tree, it will 

 sometimes ascend, hopping jauntily from one limb to 

 another, round and round the trunk, thus reaching the top 

 as if by a winding stairs. Its flight, too, is showy, resem- 

 bling that of its gay relative, the Blue Jay. 



True to its membership in the Crow family, it is said to 

 be a devourer of the eggs and young of other birds, not 

 sparing even the eggs of the Crow itself. Some competent 

 writers say that its sagacity extends even to hiding and 

 hoarding food for the winter. 



Like some other hardy birds, it begins the breeding pro- 

 cess very early, even in February or March, thus bringing 



