BLUE JAY. 
fills the air, and occasionally a clear, bell-like, three. 
syllabled note catches the ear, which is very musical, 
and sounds like this : 
BVA De, eho bk . 
Ge-rul-lup, ge- rul-lup! 
Again, a perfectly clear whistled but metallic-toned 
octave strikes the ear, thus: 
BRA eS 
Heigh- hol 
On the whole, in spite of the confusion, and the harsh, 
ringing jay, jay tones, which remind us of the bagpipe 
whistle of the children’s toy balloon, there is a decidedly 
musical element in the Blue Jay’s voice. He gives usa 
perfect octave, and, perfect or imperfect, that is a great 
deal more than the Bluebird can do. He is at oncea 
ventriloquist and a mimic, for he will readily copy any 
tone he hears which tickles his fancy, whether it be a 
squeaking cart wheel or the note of a thrush ; but he at- 
tempts nothing which we could call a song. 
Ralph Hoffmann gives us an excellent sketch of the 
Blue Jay’s character in his Bird Portraits: ‘‘ The Jay 
in spring is undoubtedly a reprobate. He cannot resist 
the temptation to sneak through the trees and bushes, 
and when he finds a nest of eggs temporarily left by its 
owner, to thrust his sharp bill through the shells; even 
young birds are devoured. In the autumn, however, he 
is a hearty, open fellow, noisy, and intent on acorns and 
chestnuts. The woods ring with his loud screams as 
he travels through them with his companions. It is 
amusing at this season to observe them obtaining chest- 
nuts, a favorite food. They drive their powerful bills 
into a nut, wrench it out of the burr, and then fly off 
with it to a convenient limb and hammer it open.” 
45 
