46 EVERYDAY BIRDS 
“ Let’s go and see,” said the master, and we 
turned in that direction. Sure enough, we soon 
came face to face with a large hen-hawk perched 
in one of the trees, while the jays, one after 
another, were dashing as near him as they dared, 
yelling at him as they passed. 
At our nearer approach the hawk took wing ; 
then the jays disappeared, and silence fell upon 
the woods. And I dare say the schoolmaster 
gave me credit for being a wondrously wise man! 
The jay has many notes, and once in a great 
while may even be heard indulging in something 
like a warble. One of his most musical calls 
sounds to my ears a little like the word “ lily.” 
He seems to be very fond of acorns, and is 
frequently to be seen standing upon a limb, 
holding an acorn under his claw and hammering 
it to pieces with all the force of his stout bill. 
When angered, he scolds violently, bobbing up 
and down in a most ridiculous manner. In fact, 
he is of a highly nervous temperament, and as 
full of gesticulations as a Frenchman. 
To me he is especially a bird of autumn. At 
that season the woods are loud with his clarion, 
and as I listen to it I can often feel myself a 
boy again, rambling in the woods that knew me 
in my school-days. With all his faults — his ill 
treatment of small birds, I mean —I should be 
sorry to have his numbers greatly diminished. 
