BLUE JAY. 73 



highest box, stretching straight up on his hind 

 legs, with fore paws pressed against his breast 

 and ears erect, his heart beating his sides and his 

 tail hanging down shamefacedly as he looked 

 anxiously toward the spruce where the blue jay 

 had gone. Gradually the fear on his face changed 

 to a comical look of bewilderment. Could that 

 bird flying about as if nothing had happened be 

 what struck him, or had he gone to sleep over his 

 corn and had a bad dream ? He settled down on 

 his haunches with an expression of inane confu- 

 sion, and finally turned back into his corn box, a 

 sorry contrast to the clear-headed blue jay. 



This was the first morning the jays came, and 

 we were greatly entertained watching the develop- 

 ment of affairs. There were only three birds 

 that were regular patrons of the corn barrel res- 

 taurant, while there were thirteen gray squirrels, 

 and when the squirrels got over their first sur- 

 prise they seemed to consider the jays an insig- 

 nificant minority. There were no claw -to -bill 

 tussles, for when a jay was eating on a corn box 

 by the side of the tree, and a squirrel ran down 

 the trunk right above him, and gave a jump that 

 promised to land him on the jay's head, the bird 

 would quietly fly off. But such meekness was no 

 sign of discomfiture. The jays came back as often 

 as they were driven away. If the squirrels ob- 

 jected to their eating on a corner of the box with 

 them, the jays would hop down on the snow and 



