THE BLUE JAY. 107 



them, while they were attempting to take the bait thug 

 fixed in their sight. But the same habit is common to 

 this bird when tamed, and seems to arise rather from 

 the shortness of his claws, and consequent difficulty he 

 has of holding his food, while he tears it with his bill. 

 Thus if he kills a small bird, when in the wild state, he 

 takes it to a thorn, on which he hangs it, and then with 

 his hooked bill, pulls off the flesh, one piece after an- 

 other, until the whole is eaten. When tamed, he acts 

 in a similar manner with any piece of flesh that is given 

 him, spitting it on a sharpened stick or nail, which is 

 fixed up in his cage for that purpose. 



This habit does not seem to arise entirely from a 

 wish to preserve his food for future use, for in many, 

 and perhaps, in most cases, the grasshoppers, which 

 are served in this manner, are suffered to dry and 

 become useless in the sun, the bird never touching them 

 afterwards. 



In like manner the raven and crow hide their pro- 

 visions, and other articles which they cannot eat in 

 some sly place, but never see them afterwards. 



THE BLUE JAY. 



How large a bird is the Blue Jay ? 



The Blue Jay is one foot long, and a foot and a half 

 in extent. 



What colour is this bird ? 



Its colour is chiefly blue, which is deep on the back, 

 and tail, but grows pale along the sides ; the throat, 



