CROWS. 277 



The Blue Jays are residents in Massachusetts through all 

 the seasons, but in winter are somewhat rare, as they also are 

 to the northward, even during summer. They are gregarious 

 throughout a greater part of the year, but are necessarily more 

 or less separated, as is always the case during the breeding- 

 season. They are, like the Crows, omnivorous ; but they have 

 a peculiar fondness for acorns and beech-nuts, which they are 

 said to store for the winter. They frequent the woods chiefly, 

 in which they build their nests, particularly among the ever- 

 greens. They may often be seen, however, in open lands, but 

 comparatively seldom on the ground. They fly vigorously, but 

 not with the steady, monotonous beat of the Crows. They are 

 said to be amusing pets, having in confinement the gayety and 

 roguishness natural to their tribe. I am told that they may be 

 easily caught, by being made drunk with corn dipped in whis- 

 key. Grain impregnated with poison is also used to kill them. 

 Though common in summer, they are, perhaps, most abundant 

 in autumn, when I have once or twice seen as many as twenty 

 together not far from Boston. In winter they are often scat- 

 tered ; but in spring they reunite, remaining in flocks until 

 May, when they separate to build, becoming less impudent and 

 more shy. 



d. Their notes vary endlessly from loud, characteristic 

 screams to soft, musical whistles, though all are somewhat 

 characterized by the same tone. The Blue Jays are very noisy, 

 and possess not only the power of ventriloquism, but also that 

 of mimicry. They imitate the cries of the Sparrow Hawk, 

 and those of the " Hen Hawks," with great exactness, so that, 

 were not these sounds so often heard near houses, they might 

 easily deceive even an experienced naturalist. There is one 

 note, to which I would particularly call attention, a guttural 

 cry not unlike the sound produced by the rapping of Wood- 

 peckers. This may be heard in spring especially, and is ap- 

 parently a love-note. The Jays, on uttering any sounds, are 

 obliged to gesticulate in a most ludicrous manner, unless when 

 screaming on the wing. 



