Birds of Britain 



this species is practically omnivorous and nothing comes 

 amiss, large numbers of berries being eaten in winter. 

 In this country he is strictly resident, rarely wandering 

 far from the woods which formed his summer home, but 

 in the northern parts of his range on the Continent he 

 migrates, sometimes in considerable flocks, some of which 

 visit our shores in autumn, and although these Continental 

 birds are said to be distinguishable from our own native 

 race, we suspect that it is largely owing to these immigrations 

 that we can still number the Jay as one of our common 

 indigenous birds. 



The general colour of the nape, mantle, and under parts 

 is vinous brown. Crown of the head whitish streaked 

 with black ; malar stripe black. Chin, rump, and under 

 tail coverts white ; tail and primaries black, the latter with 

 white outer margins. Secondaries black, the outermost five 

 with white bases. Wing coverts barred white, black, and 

 blue. Length 14'25 in. ; wing 7 '2 in. The sexes and 

 young are all alike in plumage. 



This species is generally distributed, except in the north 

 of Scotland and Ireland, where it becomes scarce. 



It is perhaps worthy of note that in the Jays and Crows 

 which build open nests, the nestlings have dark- coloured 

 mouths with no marked light edging, whereas in the Jack- 

 daw, that breeds in holes, the sides of the mouth are 

 enlarged and whitish in colour and show up conspicuously 

 in the semi-darkness of their home. 



