230 RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



cradle in which the Jay lays her eggs and rears her 

 young. Few of our British eggs are so unassuming in 

 their colouring matter as those of the Jay. They are 

 rather smaller than a Magpie's ^gg, and of a peculiar 

 greenish-drab, with perhaps a few streaks of dark brown 

 on the larger end, and four or five in number. 



The food of the Jay is varied according to the season 

 of the year. Thus in spring he feasts on birds' eggs, 

 carrying them off on his stout bill, and insects innumer- 

 able. He is also partial to a young Pheasant or Partridge, 

 and he is often seen chasing the smaller birds through 

 the trees like a Hawk. As the fruit season arrives he 

 loses much of his occasional wariness, for be it known 

 the Jay is passionately fond of peas, cherries, and other 

 fruits, and to obtain them he advances boldly into the 

 garden. Perhaps he comes in this manner for his share 

 of the good things in recompense for the infinite number 

 of insects he has devoured a few months previously. 

 But the gardener does not see things in this light, and 

 never fails to take his life at every available opportunity. 

 In autumn the Jay leaves the gardens and repairs to the 

 oak trees, for the purpose of feeding on the acorns. He 

 is now very often seen on the ground, and we now and 

 then see him burying an acorn, but whether they return 

 to these buried stores I could never ascertain. But the 

 acorns fail at last, and the winter draws nigh, and the Jay 

 has to subsist on whatever he can find. Carrion never 

 comes amiss to him, and we see him on the pastures, 

 feeding, like Rooks, on worms and other animal sub- 

 stances. You never see Jays in any numbers together, 

 like Rooks, Jackdaws, or Starlings. In the winter 

 little parties may be seen of perhaps five or six, but these 

 are without doubt the young and their parents of the 

 previous season, and we may pretty well rest assured 

 that the Jay is not a gregarious species. 



