THE MAGPIE AND THE JAY 253 



now that there is nothing to conceal, even the 

 old birds find their voices again, which they use 

 on any and every occasion. Let a fox move 

 from his lair in a bramble bush, a stoat chase a 

 rabbit from its burrow, or a poaching cat wander 

 down the woodland ride, and they will scream 

 and chatter until all the wild world knows 

 that something is astir. And not content with 

 letting all and sundry know what is going on, 

 they follow the disturber of the peace, peering 

 down at it with those sharp bright eyes of pale 

 skimmed-milk colour, hurling abuse from the 

 tree-tops, and giving it no rest until it seeks 

 shelter somewhere where those keen eyes cannot 

 penetrate. 



The calls and cries of the jay are legion, 

 varying from a subdued little chuckle up to a 

 harsh scream ; in addition it is a wonderful 

 mimic, copying the other inhabitants of the 

 coverts, and even imitating the hoot of the 

 brown owl. Unless you have listened while a 

 party of jays work around you, it is impossible 

 to have any idea what they are capable of. They 

 seem to take a pride in their mimicry and to 

 delight in copying other birds. 



The jay is really a very successful creature, 

 for, despite the amount of persecution it has 

 to endure, it is common throughout England, 

 Wales, the Lowlands, of Scotland, and in 

 Ireland, and is equally plentiful on the Continent, 

 ranging right across Europe into Asia. At least 

 birds closely resembling our English jay are to 



