256 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



THE BLUE JAY THEN AND NOW. 



ONG years agone a wandering inquisi- 

 tive blue bird in search of a nesting site, 

 found an opening in a rainwater con- 

 ductor, which led him to a full hogshead 

 — and suicide. This unfortunate drown- 

 ed bird was stuffed and mounted on a 

 rustic perch by an ancient hermit taxi- 

 dermist. This bird, the work of Nature 

 and Art combined, was long the delight 

 of the wondering juveniles of the fam- 

 ily which was so fortunate as to possess 

 it; but one evening little sister unwit- 

 tingly placed a lamp in such juxtaposition 

 to the specimen that its tail went up in 

 fragrant (?) incense, and great were the 

 lamentations thereat. Nevertheless this seeming calamity proved a 

 blessing in disguise to one member of the family. Little brother, 

 who had the budding instincts of a naturalist, who kept the house 

 littered with last year's bird's and hornet's nests, rocks, snake skins, 

 tortoise shells, bones, lichens, etc., who had constructed a large case, 

 the compartments of which he had filled with birds eggs of many 

 kinds, saw in this unfortunate accident a golden opportunity. He had 

 spent the early morning hours of Spring and Summer, in watching the 

 common birds of field, orchard and woodland. He had learned their 

 names and notes, and, boylike, he now longed to "collect" them. 



The stuffed blue bird had awakened taxidermic ambitions and the 

 ruin of the specimen furnished him with opportunities for the acquire- 

 ment of useful knowledge, which till then had seemed unattainable. 

 The stuffed bird and its rustic perch were both dissected. A book on 

 taxidermy was obtained from the library and the mystery of bird stuff- 

 ing was solved. Next came a thirst for the blood of the innocents. 

 A deadly weapon was sought and found in the possession of another 

 boy in the neighborhood. A trade was made. Seventy-five cents 

 changed hands, and an old musket with a loosened sawed off barrel 

 and broken lock changed owners. Boyish ingenuity was brought to 

 bear on the loosened barrel and broken lock and for many moons that 

 crude weapon carried on its work of destruction among the furred and 

 feathered inhabitants of the woods; while under the midnight oil the 

 collection of skins and mounted specimens grew apace. 



During all this time there was one crafty bird that always kept beyond 



