10 



THE BLUE JAY. 



the Robin tree is the signal for a fight, which is but one of millions in the 

 process of a feud already centuries old. 



In view of Blue Jay's sins, it affords a legitimate satisfaction to recall a 

 sight which met my gaze early one morning in May, a Crow robbing a Blue 

 Jay's nest. Four eggs one, two, three, four were extracted by the relentless 

 claw of fate, while the agonized, if unrepentant, parents plead for mercy. The 

 Crow is no saint, but he does not cloak his villainies under a garb of blue and 



white. 



For sheer naughtiness, too, com- 

 mend us to the pleasant habit which 

 the Blue Jay has of secreting himself 

 in some thicket and imitating the 

 notes of hawks or other birds or 

 beasts of prey. The ke-ah note of 

 the Red-shouldered Hawk is a favo- 

 rite instrument of terror, and the 

 killy-killy note of the Sparrow 

 Hawk is no less cleverly handled. 

 Once, in winter, having just heard 

 and seen an authentic Butcher-bird, 

 I hastened over to a copse upon hear- 

 ing a repetition of the cry. Here I 

 found a Blue Jay holding a company 



of Tree Sparrows nearly paralyzed with fright while he produced the well- 

 known clinking and buzzing notes of the Northern Shrike. Is it too much to 

 believe that he chuckled with fiendish glee after this performance? 



The notes and cries of this bird are always of interest, and by a little atten- 

 tion one may soon learn to tell from them what kind of mischief is afoot. Pure 

 jay, jay is used when alighting or greeting comrades, or in assembling the 

 clan. Dayick, dayick is the raucous note of mischief or mere clamor. 

 Delary, delary is the sound pressed out during those extraordinary springing 

 motions which the bird describes through the whole arc of his physical reach. 

 It seems to be used both to announce a discovery, to summon or warn friends, 

 or as a preparatory flight call. This delary is often preceded by a mellow 

 toob, toob, of puzzling origin, and the flight itself is often accompanied by a 

 rich ringing Chc-klung-oo-i. Besides these, there are, of course, various 

 soliloquizing and conversational notes, and these on occasion may reach the 

 doubtful dignity of song. 



If we can say little that is good of the Blue Jay, all must agree that he is 

 an interesting character; and our moral duty toward him and those upon 

 whom he preys will probably be best observed, not by a policy of ruthless ex- 

 termination, but by keeping the species within bounds. 



Taken near Buckeye Lake. Photo by the Auth 

 NEST AND EGGS OF BLUE JAY 



FIFTEEN FEET HIGH IN SWAMP WILLOW. 



