86 BRITISH BIRDS. 



lesser quills black ; those next the body chesnut ; 

 the rump is white ; tail black, with pale brown 

 edges ; legs dirty pale brown. 



The Jay is common in Great Britain, and is 

 found in various parts of Europe. It is dis- 

 tinguished as well for the beautiful arrangement of 

 its colours, as for its harsh, grating voice, and 

 restless disposition. Upon seeing the sportsman, it 

 gives, by its cries, the alarm of danger. It builds 

 in woods, and makes an artless nest, composed of 

 sticks, fibres, and slender twigs : lays five or six 

 eggs, ash-grey, mixed with green, and faintly 

 spotted with brown. The young ones continue 

 with their parents till the following spring, when 

 they separate to form new pairs. 



They live on acorns, nuts, seeds, and fruits ; 

 will eat eggs, and sometimes destroy young birds 

 in the absence of the old ones. When domes- 

 ticated they may be rendered very familiar, and 

 will imitate a variety of w^ords and sounds. We 

 have heard one imitate the sound of a saw so 

 exactly, that though it was on a Sunday, \ve could 

 hardly be persuaded that there was not a carpenter 

 at work in the house. Another, at the approach of 

 cattle, had learned to hound a cur dog upon them, 

 by whistling and calling his name : at last, during 

 frost, the dog was excited to attack a cow big with 

 calf, when the animal fell on the ice, and was hurt ; 

 the Jay was complained of as a nuisance, and its 

 owner was obliged to destroy it. They sometimes 

 assemble in great numbers early in the spring, and 

 seem to hold a conference, probably for the pur- 

 pose of pairing and of fixing upon the districts they 

 are to occupy : to hear them is truly curious ; while 



