174 JAY. 



sure of the bird. The body of the Jay is 

 a rich cinnamon colour, which is lighter 

 upon the breast than it is on the back. 

 The wings are beautifully marked with a 

 patch of brilliant azure, barred with black. 



In a wild state, where he has the en- 

 tirety of the habits of our still lovelier- 

 looking species, his food is acorns, seeds, 

 nuts, fruits and the eggs and young of 

 other birds, of which he is immoderately 

 fond, and for which cannibal-like propen- 

 sity he is shot down on every occasion by 

 the game-keeper without mercy. In do- 

 mestication he may be treated like the 

 before-mentioned bird. 



In the cage, like the rest of his order, he 

 is very familiar and docile, and will learn 

 sentences with the greatest ease. His 

 song, however, abounds more in loudness 

 and shrillness than it * does in sweetness 

 or delicacy of tone; but his talent for 

 imitating the louder-voiced birds and ani- 

 mals, is striking and peculiar; consisting 

 generally in close mimicry of the bleating 



