276 XORTII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



to tliiit of tlie tnini])eter in the Land. His notes he varies to an almost 

 infinite extent, at <»ne time screaming with all his might, at another war- 

 bling with all th(5 sottness of tone and moderation of the lUuehird, and 

 acjain imi)artinu" to his voice a ii;ratin«' liarshness Lliat is indeseriltal>le. 



The power of mimiery possessed hy the Jay, thougli ditfeient from, is 

 hardly surpassed hy 'hat of the Mocking-ljird. It especially (Udights to 

 imitate tlie cries of tlie Sparrow Hawk, and at other times those of the Ifed- 

 tailed and IJed-shouhiered Hawks are given with such similaritv that the 

 small birds Hy to a covert, and the inmates of the poultry-yard are in the 

 greatest alarm. Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, of Cleveland, on who.se grounds a 

 large colony of Jays took \\\) their abode and became very familiar, has given 

 me a verv intere.stiut; account of their habits. The followiuLf is an extract: 

 " Thev soon became so familiar as to feed about our vards and corn-cribs. 

 At the dawn of every plea.sant day throughout the year, the nesting-season 

 excepted, a stranger in my house might well suppose that all the axles in 

 the country were screechiug aloud for lubrication, hearing the liarsh and dis- 

 cordant ut* "ranees of the.se birds. During the day the poultry might be 

 frequently seen running into their hiding-places, and the gobbler with his 

 upturned eye searching the heavens for the enemy, all excited and alarmed 

 by the mimic utterances of the adai)t ventriloquists, the Jays, simulating the 

 cries of the Ked-shouldered and the IJed-tailed Hawks. The domestic circle 

 of the barn-yard evidently never gained any insight into the deception by ex- 

 perience ; for, though the trick was repeated every few hours, the excitement 

 would always be re-enacted." 



When reared from the nest, these birds become very tame, and are per- 

 fectly reconciled to confinement. They very soon gi'ow^ into annising pets, 

 learning to imitate the human voice, and to sinudate almost every sound that 

 they hear. Wilson gives an account of one that had been brought up in a 

 family of a gentleman in South Carolina that displayed great intelligence, 

 and had all the lo(piacity of a parrot. This bird couhl utter several words 

 with great distinctness, and, whenever called, would immediately answer to 

 its name with great sociability. 



The late Dr. Esteep, of Canton, Ohio, an experienced bird-fancier, assured 

 Dr. Kirtland that he has invariably fonnd the Blue Jay more ingenious, 

 cunning, and teachable than any other species of bird he has ever attempted 

 to instruct. 



Dr. Kirtland has also informed me of the almost invaluable services ren- 

 dered to the farmers in his neiuhljorhood, bv the Blue Javs, in the destruc- 

 tion of caterpillars. When he first settled on his farm, he found every apple 

 and wild-cherry tree in the vicinity extensively disfigured and denuded of 

 its leaves by the larva' of the Clisiommjm amcrimna, or the tent caterpillar. 

 The evil was so extensive that even the best farmers despaired of counter- 

 acting it. Xot long jifter the Jays colonized upon his place lie found they 

 were feeding their young quite extensively with these larvie, and so 



