ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER 



retreat over the beaters. Should one be killed there is 

 great competition for its blue feathers with which the beaters 

 love to adorn their head-orear. These feathers are also valued 

 for fly-tying, and in the north many a Jay is slain for those 

 feathers alone. 



" The Jay is particularly fond of acorns, and for that reason 

 is rarely absent from large oak woods. It is suspected of 

 watching squirrels visit their hordes of nuts during the mild 

 days of winter, and subsequently taking toll therefrom. If 

 this accusation is true, it is not to be wondered at, having 

 regard to the bird's cunning. A large crop of acorns in 

 one locality, and a corresponding lack elsewhere, is certain 

 to lead to a big influx of Jays, but the birds generally leave 

 again early in the year before eggs are laid. Perhaps the 

 Jay's favourite food is the newly-hatched nestlings of small 

 birds, and as regards the destruction of these it is a positive 

 brute, insatiable and most cruel. Occasionally, it may be 

 able to seize a stray Pheasant or partridge chick, but not 

 often, although a very little rabbit frequently pays the penalty 

 of venturing too far from its burrow. 



" At night the Jay roosts in the densest part of a thick 

 fir-tree, preferably one in the centre of a group, or amongst 

 the ivy on an old wall or tree. It is not easily driven from 

 its roosting-place, and where one is there are generally 

 more. The Jay is very secret over its nesting, and is most 

 careful never to make a noise or to be seen near ; in fact, 

 that part of a covert where the bird is heard and seen least 

 generally contains its nest. The nest is situated at the top 

 of an ash or alder pole, at the tip of a fir-tree, and always 

 well hidden from view. 



" The Jay is not an easy bird to capture at all times, 

 being suspicious of everything in the nature of a trap, and 

 scorns a bait when natural food is abundant. When snow 



197 



