X THE JAY. 



CorvHS f/landar'ms — Pennant, Bewick. 

 Garrulus glandariiis — Selhy, Gould. 



EW birds have obtained such 

 unenviable notoriety as the Jaj'. 

 Equally with the Magpie ab- 

 horred by the husbandman, far- 

 mer_, and gamekeeper, the Jay, 

 in the reign of George II., was 

 considered such a desperate cha- 

 racter, that an Act of Parliament 

 was passed empo\vering certain 

 authorities to pay a reward of 

 threepence per head for every 

 slaughtered bird. Doubtless this 

 had the effect of lessening the 

 ■^^'^ number, for although the Jay is 

 still common to almost all parts 

 of England, it is not what may 

 be termed jilentiful. This, too, is 

 because, like most of the tribe. 

 Jays show a preference to certain 

 localities, though without any 

 apparent reason, as the regions 

 they affect are generally low 

 waste lands, without the means 

 of subsistence that a neigh- 

 bouring fertile locality would 



