THE BLUE JAY 



step-ladder. All the material used was the colour of the bark 

 of the tree, while the nest was very neat for Jays. It was shaded 

 by masses of wild grape-vines and Mother Jay was serenely 

 brooding when I found her. The first thing was to accustom the 

 Jays to my presence in the orchard, then to try for studies of the 

 gaudy brooding bird. 



So I sat down under a rambo across the fence from the elm 

 and studied Jay character. Before finishing with those birds 

 I found that they had character in plenty, but of a kind scarcely 

 compatible with the peace of other birds. Sooner than I 

 expected, the racket Father Jay made at my intrusion ceased, 

 no doubt because he was too busy protecting his mate from 

 the Hawks of the woods to bother with me; so I moved 

 closer. 



I had work to concentrate my attention on the Jays, 

 despite all a series of such well-known and characteristic 

 birds would mean to me, for to the Lark's call and the 

 Sparrow's lay were added the notes of the Killdeer down at 

 the creek, the scream of Ganders busy guarding their feeding 

 flocks, the gobble of the Turkey-cock from the dooryard, the 

 boasting of the big Brahma Rooster over by the barn every 

 time a Hen came out and announced that she had laid an egg, 

 while June at her prime was oozing from all the earth, air 

 and sky. 



A sound which caught and fastened my attention on the Jays 

 was made by the male suddenly screaming, "D'jay! D'jay! 

 D 'jay!" and then giving almost the exact imitation of a Hawk's 

 cry. Looking up I saw one of those big birds sweep from the 

 woods across the orchard. Then the Jay paid the farmer his 

 "keep," also in a measure atoned for his meanness to other birds; 

 for at his warning every chick of the Yellow Dorking catching 

 grasshoppers in the orchard ran for cover with never a cheep; 



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