THE BLUE JAY. 365 



banded with black, and broadly tipped with white, except on the central tail feathers ; 

 beneath white; tinged with purplish-blue on the throat, and with bluish-brown 

 on the sides ; a black crescent on the forepart of the breast, the horns passing for- 

 ward and connecting with a half-collar on the back of the neck ; a narrow frontal 

 line and loral region black ; feathers on the base of the bill blue, like the crown. 

 Female rather duller in color, and a little smaller. 



Length, twelve and twenty-five one-hundredths inches ; wing, five and sixty-five 

 one-hundredths inches ; tail, five and seventy-five one-hundredths inches. 



This beautiful and well-known bird is abundantly dis- 

 tributed throughout New England. It is less common in 

 the northern than in the southern districts, but is often seen 

 there, not in company with the Canada Jay, however. 



Its food is more varied than that of almost any other 

 bird that we have. In winter, the berries of the cedar, bar- 

 berry or black-thorn, with the few eggs or cocoons of in- 

 sects that it is able to find, constitute its chief sustenance. 

 In early spring, the opening buds of shrubs, caterpillars, 

 and other insects, afford it a meagre diet. Later in the 

 spring, and through the greater part of summer, the eggs 

 and young of the smaller birds constitute its chief food, 

 varied by a few insects and early berries. Later in the 

 summer, and in early autumn, berries, small fruits, grains, 

 and a few insects, afford it a bountiful provender ; and later 

 in the autumn, when the frosts have burst open the burrs 

 of chestnuts and beechnuts, and exposed the brown, ripe 

 fruit to view, these form a palatable and acceptable food : 

 and a large share of these delicious nuts fall to the portion 

 of these busy and garrulous birds. 



The notes of the Blue Jay consist of a shrill cry, like 

 jay-jay-jay repeated often, and in a high key; a shrill 

 whistle like the syllables -wheeo-wheeo-wheeo ; a hoarse 

 rattle, something like a Kingfisher's well-known alarum ; 

 and an exceedingly sweet bell-like note, that possesses a 

 mournful tone, like that of a far-off hamlet bell tolling 

 a funeral dirge. 



I have often heard this tone in the autumn, when the 

 leaves were falling from the trees, and all nature wore its 



