AVES—JAY. 481 
work in the house. Another had learned, when cattle approached, to set a 
cur dog on them, by whistling and calling him by name. The poor jay, 
however, at last paid dearly for his mischievous tricks. Having set his 
quadruped associate upon a cow which was big with calf, the cow was much 
hurt, he was complained of as a nuisance, and his owner was obliged to 
destroy him. 
THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY 
Tus elegant bird is peculiar to North America, and is distinguished as a 
kind of beau among the feathered tenants of our woods by the brilliancy of 
his dress; and, like most other coxcombs, makes himself still more ecnspicu- 
ous by his loquacity and the oddness of his tones and gestures. Ife is al- 
most a universal inhabitant of the woods, frequenting the thickest settle- 
ments as well as the deepest recesses of the forest, where his squalling 
voice often alarms the deer, to the disappointment of the hunter. In the 
charming season of spring, when every thicket pours forth harmony, the 
part performed by the jay always catches the ear. He appears to be among 
his fellow musicians, what the trumpeter is tn a band, some of his notes 
1 Corvus cristatus, Lin. 
vi 4l 
