CORVID. 241 
The Jay is easily tamed, and is a very amusing 
bird in confinement, on account of the power it 
possesses of imitating various sounds, the human 
voice amongst others. In its wild state the Jay 
exercises this power of imitation to a very great ex- 
tent: Montagu even goes so far as to say it imitates 
“the bleating of a lamb, the mewing of a cat, the 
note of a Kite or Buzzard, the hooting of an Owl, 
and even the neighing of a horse: these imitations 
are so exact, even in a natural wild state, that we have 
frequently been deceived.’* It also imitates the 
song of various small birds; in fact, it 1s quite a 
mocking bird. 
In plumage the Jay is a very beautiful and con- 
spicuous bird. ‘The beak is dark horn, almost black ; 
irides pale blue; forehead and top of the head dull 
dirty white, inclining to reddish fawn-colour on the 
top of the head; in the centre of each feather is a 
narrow streak of black, which gets broader at the 
top; the feathers of these parts are considerably 
elongated, forming a crest, which can be elevated at 
the pleasure of the bird; back and seapulars reddish 
fawn-colour, with a tinge of blue in it; lesser wing- 
coverts the same, but some of them are a shade 
redder; the greater. wing-coverts are a_ beautiful 
bright blue, shaded in streaks from almost white to 
blue-black; primary quills dusky, edged with dull 
— 
* Montagu’s Dictionary, by Newman. 
