DOUBTFUL CHARACTERS 123 



When pairing-time draws near, the jay might 

 be called the dandy of the oaks ; for he shows 

 off finely, as he raises his crest, and shows 

 his bright wings and fine tail to the very 

 best advantage, for his mate's admiration. 



But even at this season he is wary, and if 

 it is courting time he does not part with his 

 wits, as some other creatures do. Just tread 

 on a dead stick, or let him sight you, and 

 with a squawk he is off. 



First on the list of shrikes comes the Great 

 Shrike. If you have the good fortune to meet 

 with this bird, it will claim all your attention 

 during the very limited time it will allow itself 

 to be watched, for it is suspicious of danger to 

 a high degree. 



About the size of a fieldfare, but more strongly 

 built, its plumage of grey and white, patched 

 with black, makes it a conspicuous object, as it 

 darts along or perches on the top of the twigs 

 of some old hedgerow. It is known by various 

 names, according to the districts in which it 

 has been found. One of them is the mountain 

 magpie, and at the first sight that is exactly what 

 any ordinary observer would take it to be a 

 small magpie. Before the fine old hedges, those 

 ancient bulwarks of the fields and meadows, 



