BLUE JAY TALK. 133 



far from their tree ; they were used to seeing 

 people in that place, and did not mind them. It 

 was the unexpected that they resented. Having 

 established our habits, birds in general insist 

 that we shall govern ourselves by them, and not 

 depart from our accustomed orbit. 



On near acquaintance, I found the jay pos- 

 sessed of a vocabulary more copious than that of 

 any other bird I know, though the flicker does 

 not lack variety of expression. When some 

 aspiring scientist is ready to study the language 

 of birds, I advise him to experiment with the 

 blue jay. He is exceedingly voluble, always 

 ready to talk, and not in the least backward in 

 exhibiting his accomplishments. The low-toned, 

 plaintive sounding conversation of the jays with 

 each other, not only beside the nest, but when 

 flying together or apart, or in brief interviews 

 in the lilac bush, pleased me especially, because 

 it was exactly the same prattle that a pet blue 

 jay was accustomed to address to me ; and it 

 confirmed what I had always believed from his 

 manner, that it was his most loving and intimate 

 expression, the tone in which he addresses his 

 best beloved. 



Beside the well-known squawk, which Thoreau 

 aptly calls " the brazen trump of the impatient 

 jay," the shouts and calls and war-cries of the 

 bird can hardly be numbered, and I have no 



