The Blue Jay {Cyanocitta crtstata,) 

 By William Dutcher 



Mr. Bluejay, full o' sass. 



In them baseball clothes o' his, 

 Sportin' 'round the orchard jes' 



Like lie owned the jireinises. 



— James Whitcomb Riley. 



Length, 11^ inches. The brilHant bhie of the wings and tail combined with 

 the black crescent of the upper breast and the crested head distinguish this species. 



Range : Resident in the eastern United States and southern Canada, west to 

 the Dakotas, Colorado and Texas. 



It certainly is a tyro in bird study who does not know this noisy braggart 

 fellow with his inquisitive ways. Such characteristics usually repel, but in the 

 case of the blue jay they rather attract, and no one can help admiring this con- 

 spicuous member of the Corvine family. He has all the cunning of his somber- 

 hued cousins the crows, but not their sedateness ; he is life and activity personified. 



Audubon, although he admired the beauty of the blue jay, did not give him 

 a good reputation as the following pen, picture shows: "Reader, look at the 

 plate on which are represented three individuals of this beautiful species — rogues 

 though they be, and thieves, as I would call them, were it fit for me to pass judg- 

 ment on their actions. See how each is enjoying the fruits of his knavery, suck- 

 ing the tgg which he has pilfered from the nest of some innocent dove or harmless 

 partridge. Who could imagine that a form so graceful, arrayed by nature in a 

 garb so resplendent, should harbor so much mischief; — that selfishness, duplicity 

 and malice should form the moral accompaniments of so much physical perfection ! 

 Yet so it is, and how like beings of a much higher order, are these gay deceivers. 

 Aye, I could write you a whole chapter on this subject, were not my task of a dif- 

 ferent nature." 



Alexander Wilson esteemed the blue jay a frivolous fellow : "This elegant 

 bird is distinguished as a kind of beau among the feathered tenants of our woods, 

 by the brilliancy of his dress ; and, like most other coxcombs, makes himself still 

 more conspicuous by his loquacity, and the oddness of his tones and gestures. In 

 the charming season of spring, when ever}- thicket pours forth harmony, the part 

 performed by the jay always catches the ear. He appears to be, among his fellow- 

 musicians, what the trumpeter is in a band, some of his notes having no distant 

 resemblance to the tones of that instrument. These he has the faculty of chang- 

 ing through a great variety of modulations, according to the particular humor he 

 happens to be in. When disposed for ridicule, there is scarce a bird whose pecu- 

 liarities of song he cannot tune his notes to. When engaged in the blandishments 

 of love they resemble the soft chatterings of a duck ; and, while he nestles among 

 the thick branches of the cedar, are scarce heard at a few paces distance ; but no 

 sooner does he discover your approach than he sets up a sudden and vehement 

 outcry, flying off and screaming with all his might, as if he called the whole 



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