THE BLUE JAY. 



ing with shrill laughter, mucking the frost and bidding defiance to the north 

 wind, until the heart leaps in answer. In early spring, too, the Blue Jays are in 

 highest spirits. They gather about some mock-modest raconteur in the tree- 

 tops, and whisper and snicker in subdued fashion until the point of the story is 

 reached, when they explode with sudden mirth and fall out of the tree shrieking 

 with laughter. If you appear on the scene just then, they proclaim your ad- 

 vance to all creation by shrill cries of Jay, Jay, and with an arrogance of 



virtue which makes you ques- 

 tion your own motives. 



But early in April the 

 Blue Jay becomes strangely 

 silent. The nesting season is 

 on, and the bird has good 

 reason to keep the matter 

 quiet. In orchard trees or 

 front-yard evergreens, but 

 oftener in the depth of the 

 forest, the wily birds steal 

 their nests. Not a sound is 

 made while the sticks are laid 

 and the rootlets gathered. No 

 whistle or call betrays the 

 secret of the spotted eggs, 

 and people begin to w< inder 

 what has become of the Blue 

 Jays. Meanwhile the Jays 

 are beginning to feast on 

 strange sweets. Many a 

 nunctured egg of Sparrow. 

 Vireo, or Robin bears witness 

 to the stealthy visit or open 

 brigandage of these maraud- 

 ers. 



When their young are 

 * roKE^T tree. hatched, the pillage and car- 



nage increases fourfold. Every discoverable nest, not successfully defended 

 by it^ i iwner, is laid under tribute to provide eggs or tender young for the baby 

 monsters at home. Altho so bloodthirsty, the treacherous blue-coat is not es- 

 pecially brave, and when set upon by the outraged parents, he (or she) usually 

 beats a hasty retreat, screaming at a fearful rate. Even the Robin must guard 

 her treasures with the greatest diligence or this crafty pilferer will desolate her 

 home. The Blue Jays are not over careful either, and the appearance of one in 



(EST I'LlCUli 



