SHRIKES AND DAWS., 97 
dainty is almost sure to lure the bird to its destruc- 
tion. During the autumn and winter months, when 
genuine eggs are not to be obtained, artificial ones 
are often used in their stead, and are attacked with 
equal readiness by the undiscriminating jay. 
To weigh against one another the merits and de- 
merits of the jay is by no means an easy task, for the 
bird is the undoubted author of so much mischief 
that it is difficult to decide whether its services in 
killing other injurious beings compensate or not for 
its own depredations. It must be borne in mind, 
however, as I have already remarked, that, in cutting 
short the life of a mouse or a destructive insect, the 
H 2 
