>14 NATURALIST'S 



Description Female's nest. 



not eat; and often along with it small pieces of 

 money, or toys, frequently occasioning, for the 

 moment, suspicions of theft in persons who are 

 innocent. When domesticated, they are usually 

 fed on insects, fruit, grain, and small pieces of 

 meat. 



THE JAY. 



THE delicate cinnamon-coloured back and 

 Breast of this bird, with blue wing-coverts barred 

 with black and white, render it one of the most 

 elegant birds produced in these islands. Its bill 

 is black, its chin white; and its forehead is 

 adorned with a beautiful tuft of white feathers, 

 ^treaked with black, which it has the power of 

 erecting at pleasure. Its voice, however, is ex-? 

 tremely harsh, grating, and unpleasant, 



The female builds in woods, and makes an art- 

 less nest, composed of sticks, fibres, and tender 

 twigs; in which she generally lays uve or six; 

 eggs, of a greyish ash-colour, mixed with green, 

 and faintly spotted with brown. The young ones 

 continue with the parents till the next pairing 

 time \ they then chuse each its mate, and sepa- 

 rate, in order to produce a new progeny. The 

 old birds, when enticing their fledged young to 

 follow them, make a noise like the mewing of a 

 cat. 



kept in a domestic state, the jay may 



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