BIRDS OF 



curious purse-like nest may be observed suspended from the 

 slender twigs of a neighboring tree. There are seven different 

 species of Orioles peculiar to North America, all of them very 

 handsome birds with a general family resemblance. Formerly 

 we had only one species with us, but in the spring of 1883 I 

 found that several pairs of Orchard Orioles were breeding at 

 different points around the city. I hoped that this addition to 

 our garden birds would be permanent, but last year not one was 

 noticed. The Orchard Oriole is the smaller bird of the two, and 

 where the Baltimore is orange it is rich chesnut- brown. 



Another showy, dashing, familiar bird is the Blue Jay 

 better known around the farm house than in the city. He is a 

 gay, rollicking fellow, always ready for plunder or mischief. 

 The greater number move south at the approach of winter, but 

 a few remain in the pine woods, whence they issue on mild days 

 to sun themselves among the tree tops. They are somewhat 

 gregarious in their habits, and even in the breeding season have 

 a custom of going about in guerilla bands of four or five, visiting 

 the farm house in the early morning, seeking a chance to suck 

 eggs, and woe betide the unlucky Owl whom they happen to 

 come across on any of these excursions ! His peace for that 

 day is over, for the excitement is often kept up till darkness 

 forces the Jays to retire. 



There is another Jay found in Canada which has not been 

 noticed so far south as Hamilton. This is the Canada Jay, a 

 constant hanger on about the lumber camps, where he picks 

 up bits of msat or other refuse from the table. His taste for 

 raw meat is so well known that the lumbermen have given him 

 the names of " Butcher's Boy," " Meat Bird," etc. He is very 

 common in the district of Muskoka, which is his southern limit 

 in this part of the country. This species is strictly confined to 

 the north, and has the singular habit of building its nest during 

 the winter, and raising its young as early as March, while the 

 ground is still covered with snow. There are eighteen different 

 Jays described as North American, but the greater number of 

 these are found on the Pacific coast. 



The Woodpeckers, as a class, move off at the advance of 

 civilization, and when the country becomes clear of heavy tim- 



20 



