4G4 



C VAyoaTTA FL OR ID A NA . 



approMcli tlicin f[iut(;' close'ly, hut when oinj or two ;u"0 shot thi3 survivors instantly disap- 

 poar. Then it is very difficult to catch sight of them, for they are very expert in conceal- 

 ing themselves, or rather they are expert in keeping a. safe distance hetween themselves 

 and tlicir enemy. They will glide through the bushes with remarkable rapidity, never 

 once showing Ihemselves, or il' (liey h;ivc an open space to cross dart over it, not iu flocks, 

 but singly, and, plunging into the next thicket, tliey will he at once lost to view. It 

 re<(uires consideralde tact to obtain more tlian three or four out of one connnunity the same 

 day, the best way being to conceal oneself and, liy imitating their cries, attract them. 

 They are very in(|nisi(i\-e and, when lient upon investigating any oliject, will forget their 

 usual caution and venture i[uite near, lunttering in a, low tune to tlieir companions who 

 will answer and they will converse iu a, similar manner to I hat practiced by the Blue 

 Jays. 



They are of (piite a compassionate ilisposition foi-, wlien one of their comiianions is 

 woundeil, they will e\ iiu;e by their frantic movements and cries the utmost synqiathy for 

 its nusfortuue. At one lime when I had disabled soun' Parakeets, several Jays evideully 

 attra(ded by llieir cri"s, gathered around and uttered a singular harsh note which 1 had 

 never lieani before. Shortly after, as I was looking for Ducks in some small ponds near a 

 plantation, not far from Lake Biersford, my attention was attracted by hearing this partic- 

 idar grating cry which was repeated several times. Lo(d<ing in the direction from whicdi 

 the sound came I was surprised to see a Florida Jay clinging to the flanks of a cow. As 

 this was to me a new feature in Ihe history of these Inrds, I anxiously watched the pair for 

 further devebipments. After a, moment the Jay jumped upon a branch near Imt almost 

 instantly aligliled. ujion (he side of the animal iind ap|ieared to be jiicddng something from 

 her skin. This w;i,s (^\'idently agreealde to the cow, for slie stretidied out her head iu a 

 way p 'cnllar ti these (pmdrnped.s when tliey are being caressed by their companions. 

 The bird maint;iiued its position by grasping the shaggy hair with its feet and in this 

 w:iy moved completely und.er its large IVieml. Wishing to obtain a closer view of this 

 procedure, T approaihed, when the cow which was one of these half wild aninnds ii)und in 

 Fbn-ida, p r;eive(l me ;iud started away n[)on the run, brushing the bird ofl'in her rapid pas- 

 sa/;e through the bushes. It alighted on a, small tree when I shot it and, npon examining 

 the contents of its stonuich, f )und tliat it was filled with ticks or jiggers which infest the 

 .skin of ;dl (;ua(hnipeds in tliis section of Florida. Thus the apparently strange companion- 

 shi') of the tw.) aiiiiiials W",s cx[dained aud it occurred to nse that, as the Jay was proba,l)ly 

 accustomed to as>oci:de with deer for a similar purpose, the lond cry which I heard was 

 «itended as a n-jte of warning to its friend for the bird was aware of my presence, but 

 the cow was not suflicieutly well p istcd to understand it as she was, in a measure, domestica- 

 ted whereas the wilder animals lieing always exceedingly wary, would have comprehended 

 at once that the J:iy [xn-ceived an enemy. I al'terwards saw some others similarly engaged, 

 f,o I'oncluded that it was a regular habit. 



The Florida Jays breed in the scrub iu comnninities, and I have seen many of their 

 lu'sts iu the winter but was not fortunate enough to obtain one with eggs. They lay 

 ipiite late in the season, about the first of May, and at that time are very assiduous iu 



