326 couviDyE. 



sound that comes in their way which they will not imitate 

 more or less exactly — from the human voice to the noise of 

 any instrument, a saw for example. This mocking faculty 

 is also possessed hy wild birds of the species, though oppor- 

 tunities of listening to its exercise do not readily occur to 

 most ornithologists, and the bleat of a lamb, the neigh of a 

 horse, the mew of a cat, the bark of a dog, the wail of a 

 Kite or Buzzard (in the days when Kites and Buzzards still 

 inhabited our woods), the hoot of an Owl, the crow of a Cock 

 or the cackle of a Hen, have been heard by persevering or 

 favoured observers to be faithfully rendered by the Jay. 

 These imitations are chiefly practised in early spring, and, 

 interposed with sounds that suggest articulate pronunciation, 

 as well as ejaculations of a kind quite indescribable in words, 

 which are connected by soft and melodious notes, are intro- 

 duced into what may fairly be called the song of the species. 

 But to hear such a performance is the reward of those only 

 that know how to approach the timid and wary musician, 

 who during its execution is embowered among leafy shades, 

 and is ever on the alert to take alarm at the slightest un- 

 wonted rustle of a bough, the crack of a twig, or at a footfall 

 that is not absolutely inaudible. 



The flight of the Jay seems to be laborious, the bird 

 making its way with an undulating progress and frequent 

 flappings of its wings. Generally it is seen only when flitting for 

 a short distance from tree to tree, but its migrations prove 

 that it is capable of sustaining a very long voyage through 

 the air. On the ground it moves chiefly if not entirely by 

 hopping, never, so far as has been recorded, walking or 

 running like most of the Gorv'uhe. When perched on a 

 tree and thinking itself unobserved, its gesticulations are 

 free and lively. The head is constantly turned from side to 

 side, the crest alternately raised and lowered, the wings at 

 times drooped and then drawn up and concealed by the 

 long loose feathers of the flanks, the tail elevated and 

 depressed, and swung now to the right and now to the left. 

 He, however, who would watch the actions of the Jay, must 

 act as cautiously as has been prescribed in the case of him 



