JAY 159 



foliage of the woods and thickets he inhabits it is as difficult to 

 see a jay as a wood- wren ; and it is doubtless owing to this fact, and 

 to his extreme wariness and cunning, that he still survives in 

 many parts of England where the magpie has now been extirpated, 

 although both species are pursued by gamekeepers with the same 

 stupid and deadly animosity. In Scotland he is said to be de- 

 creasing more rapidly than in England, probably because the Scotch 

 are more thorough than the Southrons, especially in the process of 

 stamping out : hi Ireland it is found only in the southern half of 

 the island, where it is somewhat scarce. 



The most striking characteristic of the jay is its tireless energy, 

 and a liveliness of disposition and alertness almost without a 

 parallel among British birds ; even the restless, prying, chattering 

 magpie seems a quiet creature beside it ; and as to the other corvine 

 birds, they are by comparison a sedate family. Like the magpie, 

 he is an excitable and vociferous bird, and has a curious and varied 

 language. When disturbed in his woodland haunts he utters a 

 scream that startles the hearer, so loud and harsh and piercing is it. 

 Richard Jefferies well describes it as being like the sound made in 

 tearing a piece of calico. He also has a lower, monotonous, rasping 

 note, which he will continue uttering for half an hour at a time 

 when his curiosity or suspicion has been excited. In the love 

 season he utters a variety of sounds by way of song, and as they 

 resemble the notes of the starling, sparrow, and other birds, he is 

 supposed to be a mocker. In captivity he can be taught to speak a 

 few words ; but it is possible that the various sounds composing his 

 vocal performance in the woods are his own. 



In spring he becomes somewhat social, and unites in noisy 

 parties ; at other times he is solitary, or lives with his mate. 



Owing to an excessively wary and suspicious habit, engendered 

 by much persecution, it is difficult to observe him narrowly for any 

 length of time. In the woods and plantations, few and far between, 

 where jays are not persecuted, and do not associate the human 

 figure with a sudden shower of murderous pellets, he will allow a 

 nearer approach, and it is then a rare pleasure to study him on his 

 perch. He does not, as a rule, rest long in one place, and when 

 perched is of so active and excitable a temper that he cannot keep still 

 for three seconds at a stretch. The wings and tail are raised, and 

 depressed, and flirted, the crest alternately lowered and elevated, 

 the head turned from side to side, as the wild, bright eyes glance in 

 this or that direction. If he should by chance place himself where 



