THE JAY. 



The rich colouring in the bastard wing and greater 

 coverts belongs exclusively to this one species of bird. 

 The blue, the black, and the white, are here most ex- 

 quisitely blended. The eye, therefore, dwells on this 

 bird with peculiar pleasure. These brilliant colours are 

 however possessed, as is the case with other birds, prior 

 to the first moulting ; hence the male and female are so 

 much alike that they are not easily distinguished from 

 one another. 



The jay is found in considerable numbers in most of 

 the wooded parts of this country, but they seldom con- 

 gregate together. The nest of the magpie and the crow 

 may be observed near the tops of trees, but here the 

 dwelling of the jay is never seen. In the lower branches 

 of the oak, or the woodbine mantling round the hazel, 

 it finds an abode. Like some other birds, as the jack- 

 daw, the rook, and the pheasant, it feeds voraciously on 

 the acorn. In pea and cherry time it becomes remark- 



