240 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



gardener and the gamekeeper; ladies and fishing- 

 tackle makers also join in the persecution of this 

 bird, the one keeping the wings for ornaments for 

 their hats, and the other the blue feathers of the 

 same parts for flies. 



The food of the Jay is very various, and conse- 

 quently M. Prevost's list, for this one of his birds, is 

 rather a long one : " January, grubs of cockchaffers, 

 acorns and berries ; February, chrysalids and 

 different grains and seeds ; March, grubs, insects, 

 wheat and barley ; April, grubs, beetles and snails ; 

 May, cockchaffers and locusts ; June, eggs of birds, 

 cockchaffers and beetles ; July, young birds, flies 

 and beetles; August, the same, acorns, grubs and 

 dragon-flies ; September, the same and fruits ; Octo- 

 ber, beetles, slugs, snails and grain ; November, the 

 same ; December, the same, haws and hips." 

 Though not quite innocent, this list does not make 

 the Jay by any means one of the most guilty of 

 birds. There can be no doubt, however, that it has 

 a good deal to answer for, especially in the matter of 

 peas, cherries and eggs. Mice and frogs seem occa- 

 sionally, by way of variety, to form part of the food 

 of the Jay: for the frogs I can find no authority, 

 except Meyer ; he includes them in his list of this 

 bird's food. 



The nest of the Jay is usually placed in thickish 

 bushes or low trees : it is made of sticks and lined 

 with roots and grass. 



