72 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE RAVEN. 



THE BLUE JAY. 



bounty of 10 cents a Iiead for ]iis destruc- 

 tion was, for a time, authorized by legisla- 

 tive enactment. To prevent liis depreda- 

 tions upon the corn fields various kinds of 

 scare-crows have been devised, but that 

 which is most commonly resorted to at 

 present, consists in stretching tlireads of 

 cotton yarn across the field in various di- 

 rections. To compensate for the mischief 

 wliich they do, it must be acknowledged 

 that crows do the farmer some service by 

 the destruction of grubs and insects, be- 

 sides acting as general scavengers in re- 

 moving the carcases of dead animals. It 

 is said they know how to break open nuts 

 and shellfish, in order to eat what is within, 

 by letting them fall from a great height 

 upon the rocks below ; and there is a sto- 

 ry that, as a certain ancient pliilosoplier 

 was walking along the sea-shore gather- 

 ing shells, one of these unlucky birds, 

 mistaking his bald head for a stone, drop- 

 ped a shell-fish upon it, and thus killed at 

 once a j)hilosopher and an oyster.'^ 



The crow is easily lamed, and soon 

 learns to distinguish those who have the 

 cari; of him, but is of a thievish pro])ensi- 

 ty, and often carries off valuable articles 

 and hides them by thrusting them into 

 holes and crevices. 



THE RAVEN. 



Corvus coraz. — Linnjeds. 



Description. — Color of the plumage 

 deep black, glossed with blue and ]nirplish 

 blue, the lower parts with green ; feathers 

 of the foreneck lanceolate and elongated ; 

 tail much rovuided, reaching 2 inches be- 

 yond the wings ; nasal feathers half the 

 length of the bill ; bill and feet black ; 

 iris-dark chestnut brown. Length 26 in- 

 ches, spread 50. — ^-liid. Rich. 



History. — The Raven is a well known 

 bird, being found in almost all parts of 

 the world. Dr. Richardson says that it 

 abounds in the fur countries, and extends 

 its migrations northward even to the po- 

 lar seas. It has for several years been 

 less frequently seen in Vermont than for- 

 merly, and it was always a rare bird 

 here compared with the crow. It feeds 

 principally upon the carcasses and offals 

 of the larger animals which are slain by 

 hunters or wolves, or that die by disease. 

 The Raven does not, like the crow, build 

 its nest upon a tree, but in the inacces- 

 sible clefts of lofty precipices. The Raven 

 is easily tamed, and manifests much at- 

 tachment to its keeper. It may be taught 

 to imitate the human voice and to articu- 

 late many words very distinctly. 



THE BLUE JAY. 

 Cortus cristatus. — Li nn.su s. 



Description. — General color light blue 

 above, grayish white beneath ; a stripe of 

 black passes over the head and down on 

 each side of the neck, forming a collar 

 under the throat ; a black spot before each 

 eye connected by a black line over the 

 base of the bill ; crest pale blue in front, 

 approaching to black on the back part; 

 outer webs of the primaries, and both 

 webs of the secondaries and wing coverts 

 bright blue, the two latter barred with 

 black and tipped with white ; tail of 12 

 feathers, wedge-form, ]>right blue, barred 

 with black excepting the two outer feath- 

 ers, and tipped with white excepting the 

 tvi'o inner ones; mouth, bill, legs, feet 

 and claws black. Length of the specimen 

 before me 11 inches. • 



History. — The Blue Jay is one of our 

 most elegant and lively birds. It is com- 

 mon in every part of the United States, 

 and is found as far north as the StJth" of 

 latitude. It breeds in Vermont as well 

 as in almost or quite every other state in 

 the Union. They are somewhat migra- 

 tory, most of them proceeding to the 

 soutli in the fall. Audubon sayt; they are 

 very numerous in the southern states dur- 

 injr the winter. They are most plentiful 

 in Vermont in autiinni, when they com- 

 mit depredations upon fields of corn and 

 oats. The greater part of them proceed 

 to the south before winter sets in, but 

 some remain with us after the snows fall, 

 and purloin a scanty subsistence from our 

 corn cribs and granaries. These birds are 

 truly omnivorous, feeding upon almost 

 any thing which falls in tiieir way. In the 

 summer season it destroys the eggs and 

 young of other birds. When confined in 

 a cage with several other birds, it has 

 been known to kill and devour them all. 

 The Blue Jay is a very active, noisy bird, 

 and is capable of imitating the voice of 

 the sparrow-hawk so nearly as to frighten 

 all the small birds in the neighborhood. 

 Its nest, which is composed of twigs and 



