lO 



Hints to Attdtibon IVoi^kers. 



from the tree directly over them, and came 

 so straight he looked as if he were falling 

 through the air. He did not seem particu- 

 larly hungry, for the suet did not please 

 him at all, and the corn was only partly 

 satisfactory. He pecked at the bark of the 

 trees in an indifferent way, too, but I thought 

 he was drinking with more gusto. He 

 seemed to be catching the raindrops that 

 were running down the sides of the trees 

 and filling the crevices of the bark. 



After he had been away for a few minutes 

 and the gray squirrels had settled down 

 comfortably for breakfast, he came dashing 

 round the corner in such a hurry he almost 

 flew into the squirrel that had taken posses- 

 sion of the lower box. The first thing I 

 saw was a confusion of blue feathers and 

 gray fur, and then a bluejay flying off to the 

 evergreen, and a gray squirrel shaking his 

 tail excitedly and starting from one side to 

 the other of the box trying to collect his wits. 

 By this time the bluejay had recovered 

 from his surprise, and seeing that it was 

 only a squirrel, hopped about in the spruce 

 as full of business as if the collision had 

 been planned. Not so with the poor squir- 

 rel ! He jumped up on the highest box, 

 stretching straight up on his hind legs, his 

 heart beating against his sides, his tail hang- 

 ing down dejectedly, his fore paws pressed 

 against his breast, and his ears standing 

 straight up as he looked off toward the 

 spruce where the bluejay had gone. Grad- 

 ually the questioning wonder on his face 

 changed to the most comical look of be- 

 wilderment. Could that big bird flying 

 about as if nothing had happened be the 

 thing that flew into him, or had he gone to 

 sleep over his corn and had a bad dream ? 

 He gradually settled down on his haunches 

 with an expression of utter, inane confusion 

 and finally turned back into his corn box, a 

 complete contrast to the clear-headed blue- 

 jay. 



But it is not only the squirrels that the 

 bluejays dine with, for one day last winter 



the little three-year-old came running out 

 of the dining room, in great excitement cry- 

 ing, "Oh, grandpa ! come quick! There are 

 three partridges, and one of them is a blue- 

 jay !" 



Indeed, the other day the bluejays quite 

 took possession of the corn barrels that are 

 the especial property of the partridges. 

 They stand under the branches of a Norway 

 spruce on either side of a snow-shoe path, 

 that runs from the house, and the handsome 

 birds made a very pretty picture flying 

 about and sitting on the barrels, the green 

 of the boughs bringing out the blue of their 

 coats. 



But the real home of the bluejay is in 

 dense coniferous forests like the Adiron- 

 dacks. There we find him with all his 

 family. I shall never forget seeing a flock 

 of the jays on Black Mountain. From the 

 top of the mountain the wilderness looked 

 like a sea of forest-clad hills, with an oc- 

 casional reef outlined by surf, for the largest 

 lakes seemed like silver tracery in the vast 

 expanse of forest. The impressive stillness 

 was only broken by the rare cries of a pair of 

 hawks that circled over the mountain, for the 

 most part they soared, silent as the wilderness 

 below them. Coming down the mountain in- 

 to the midst of the " forest primeval," where 

 the majestic hemlocks towered straight 

 toward the sky, and their massive knotted 

 roots bound down the granite boulders that 

 showed on the mountain side — there we 

 found the bluejays in their home. A flock 

 of them lived there together, feeding on 

 wild berries and beechnuts, sporting among 

 the ferns and mosses, and drinking from 

 the brook that babbled along near the 

 trail. What a wonderful home our hand- 

 some birds had chosen ! But the mem- 

 ory of the spot is hideous. Unmoved by 

 the beauty of the scene, to which the blue- 

 jays gave color and life ; unawed by the 

 henedicite of the hemlocks ; betraying the 

 trust of the friendly birds, the boy of the 

 party crept into their very home and shot 



