482 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



moors partially covered with plantations ; fertile plains fenced in with 

 wooded hedgerows and studded with farmhouses and cottages, are 

 the type of landscape they prefer. In spring plumage the Magpie is 

 a handsome bird, the feathers of the back being of velvety black, 

 while the breast and part of the wings are pure white. 



In the Brazils and Paraguay we find another species, whose whole 

 plumage is a fine cerulean blue, with the exception of the head and 



throat, which are black. In China 

 there is also a Magpie of beautiful 

 cobalt-blue plumage; its two centre 

 tail feathers are very long, barred with 

 black, and tipped with pure white ; 

 with bill and legs red. It is ex- 

 tremely shy, and occasionally is seen 

 in flocks. By the inhabitants it is 

 frequently taught to speak. 



The Jays (Garrulns] have short 

 bills, which are slightly notched at the 

 tip; head rather large; feathers on 

 the upper and anterior part of the 

 head erectile when the bird is irritated ; 

 those feathers at the base of the upper 

 mandible are stiff, with short barbs. 

 It is not less shy than other members 

 of the family, although it frequents 

 gardens, where it feeds on beans and 



peas, of which it seems to be particularly fond. Its food, however, 

 is not confined to fruit and vegetables, as it picks up worms, insects, 

 the eggs of small birds, and Crustacea, after the manner of crows 

 and magpies. Naturally irascible and quarrelsome, they are never- 

 theless easily tamed when taken young, and soon learn to pronounce 

 a few words. They abound in Europe and the Indies. The Euro- 

 pean Jay (Garrulus glandarius, Fig. 198) is a pretty bird of soft 

 and blended plumage, the feathers of the fore part of the head 

 elongated, oblong, and erectile ; its general colour is a delicate 

 brownish red tinged with grey, approaching to purple on the back. 

 The most conspicuous trait of the plumage is the patch of ultra- 

 marine blue, banded with blackish blue, on the primary coverts. 



The American variety of Jay is not quite as large as the European 

 representative ; its plumage is less brilliant. In characteristics they 

 are much alike, being equally mischievous and dreaded by the smaller 

 leathered denizens at the period of nesting. 



Fig. 198. European Jay. 



