204 MAGPIES. 



an English officer,* who was travelling in a very wild, unfre- 

 quented part of North America, where no gunners had ever 

 gone before him, and no Jay could therefore have ever learned 

 the proper distance to keep, in order to ensure its safety. Yet 

 there they were, exactly like our common English Jays, shy 

 and cautious, as if they had been hunted by sportsmen every 

 day of their lives, keeping at a certain distance, with that 

 occasional clatter and chattering so well known to those who 

 have patiently and perseveringly pursued from copse to copse, 

 or tree to tree, a disturbed party of these cunning birds. 



At the same time, certain birds of similar habits will natu- 



The Blue Jay. The Jay. 



rally, under peculiar circumstances, act very differently ; we 

 have an instance of this in the singular departure of the Mag- 

 pie from its usual custom of building its nest. Everybody 

 knows that where trees abound, that which is loftiest, or most 

 difficult of access, is usually chosen ; but in parts where there 

 are no trees, instead of retiring to high rocks, and choosing 

 places not easily approached, they will take possession of bushes 

 close to the very doors of houses, particularly in those countries 

 where, instead of being persecuted, they are preserved, from 

 an opinion that it is unlucky to kill them. Accordingly, in 

 Sweden and Norway, travellers are struck by their surprising 

 numbers and tameness, their nests being built in some low 

 bushy tree close to the cottage-doors, where they are never 



disturbed. 



* Captain Sir Francis Head. 



