EUROPEAN JAY. 255 



close and accurate observer, and we would not 

 wish to impugn his accuracy. When kept tame, 

 which they very soon become, and allowed suffi- 

 cient room, they are agreeable pets, become 

 familiar, playful, and impudent, and possess the 

 faculty of imitation to a considerable extent, 

 some of them so accurately as to have deceived 

 both man and beast, if we may believe all the 

 recorded anecdotes. 



The Jay builds on trees, and constructs a nest 

 almost intermediate between those of the Crows 

 and Thrushes. It is formed externally of sticks, 

 much weaker, however, than that of the True ' 

 Crows, and internally it is built and lined with, 

 \he fibres of roots, and a few strong straws or 

 grasses. The eggs, five or six in number, are of 

 a pale bluish green, blotched with yellowish or 

 reddish brown. (See plate XXVIII.) 



The forehead, and crown of the head, streaked 

 with black, feathers behind lengthened, and form- 

 ing a crest erectile at pleasure or excitement, 

 which adds much to the lively appearance of the 

 bird. From the corners of the mouth there is a 

 large black eval patch or moustache running 

 below the auriculars on each side of the neck. 

 The upper parts of the body, except the rump, 

 are pale brownish purple red, having a peculiar 

 and agreeable opaque appearance. The under 

 parts are of the same colour, but paler, and shade 

 in the centre into a reddish yellow-white, becom- 

 ing pure white on the under tail coverts. The 

 rump and upper tail coverts are also of this same 



