SJ82 



HABITS OF THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY. 



buffet the unfortunate hawk with such relentless perseverance that they fairly drive him out 

 of the neighborhood ; but sometimes the tables are reversed, and the hawk, turning suddenly 

 on his persecutors, snaps up the foremost and boldest, and silently sails away into the thickest 

 covert, bearing his screaming prey in his talons. 



As the Blue Jay is very fond of fruit and seeds, it often does great harm to the agricult- 

 urist, robbing his fruit-trees in a very complete and systematic manner, and doing no small 

 amount of harm to the crops. Yet the bird is not without its use, for in replenishing its 

 winter stores, which consist of nuts, mast, chestnuts, and similar provisions, the Jay drops 

 many of them in its passage, and thus unconsciously succeeds in planting many a useful tree. 



One careful observer of this 

 bird and its habits says that 

 in a few years' time the Jays 

 alone would replant all the 

 cleared lands. 



The diet of the Jay is, how- 

 ever, by no means restricted to . 

 vegetable substances, as the 

 bird lives more iipon animal 

 than on vegetable food. In 

 the spring and early summer, 

 young birds form a large por- 

 tion of its sustenance, and it 

 robs many a nest of its eggs, or 

 even when pressed by hunger 

 makes an attack on the parent 

 bird. 



In captivity with its Euro- 

 pean relative, the Blue Jay is 

 equally mischievous, being at- 

 tracted by anything that glit- 

 ters or that he thinks is valued 

 by its owner, and hiding it in 

 some of his especial treasure- 

 houses. He will also learn to 

 talk, and becomes very proud 

 of his accomplishment, dis- 

 playing his newly - acquired 

 talents to every one who will 

 listen, and being extremely 

 loquacious when excited by the presence of several persons at the same time. If kindly 

 treated, the Blue Jay becomes very affectionate to its owner, and can even be taught to 

 live in loving communion with creatures whom it would in a wild state immediately devour. 

 One of these birds, kept for some time by Wilson, was on terms of intimate friendship with one 

 of the Baltimore orioles, and would permit her to take all kinds of liberties, such as pulling its 

 whiskers, jumping into the water and splashing it whenever it desired to drink. 



The nest of the Blue Jay is large, and rather clumsily made, and is placed in a lofty 

 branch of some tall tree, the cedar being in principal request for this office. It is lined with 

 fine fibrous roots, and contains four or five eggs of a dull olive, spotted with brown. The male 

 bird is very cautious in his approaches to the nest, always gliding secretly and silently to the 

 spot where his mate and young have made their home, carrying with him the results of 

 his foraging expedition. 



Much more might be said of this bird, but its character has been so well described by 

 Webber in a few graphic passages, that I should do it injustice, were not his account to be 

 presented in his own words : 



AMERICAN BLUE JAY Cytnoritta cristata. 



