262 NOTES ON THE 
violet near the end; wings glossed with green; secondaries and 
tertials with blue; throat feathers spotted with white. 
Length, 19; wing, 8.50; tail, 11 to 13. 
Habitat, northern and western North America. 
CYANOCITTA CRISTATA (L.). 477.) 
BLUE JAY. 
Nature has shown her caprice in dressing up even a crow in 
regal plumage in the case of the Blue Jay. In few others of 
the birds has there been such a wondrously beautiful display 
of the colors where blue is predominant. The arrangement is 
without a precedent. Still he is without friends. Go where 
we may a deep seated prejudice exists against him, and he 
seems to rather enjoy this distinction. The numbers in every 
low timbered, or brushy section in Minnesota, are greater 
than in any other portion of the United States with which I 
am familiarly acquainted, and they are yearly increasing. 
They brave the winter with entire indifference to the measure 
of cold, and never are known to come out poor in the spring 
either. They live on anything and everything known to be 
eaten by any and all the other species of birds, mammals, 
reptiles or fishes, when pressed by any stress, but are epicures 
when plenty abounds, taking such dainty tit-bits as Canary 
brains, and Mockingbird’s eyes for an occasionaldessert. Still 
in justice to him I must say that he takes such as he can get 
with no complaining as to quantity, or quality. In winter he 
breakfasts on acorns perhaps, dines on cedar berries and bar- 
berry. If the wind is troublesome, he will look up a few 
cocoons of moths, and butterflies for tea. In the spring he 
explores the back yards of dwellings, and if unsuccessful, 
will content himself with a light cropful of the buds of the 
lilacs and other shrubbery. Later, his supplies are well 
understood to embrace the eggs and young of the other birds, 
not even excepting those of his own species. 
Their notes are often very discordant, and doubtless con- 
tribute to the popular prejudice against them. More commonly 
the notes are a shrill cry, expressed best by the sylables, chay- 
chay-chay, repeated in frequency according with the measure of 
excitement the bird is under. Under ordinary circumstances 
his notes may vary considerably, when they might be rendered 
somewhat like hilly, hilly, hilly, or pwilhilly, p’withilly, followed 
in a minute afterwards by hweeo-hweeo-hweeo, or chillac-chillac- 
chillac, after which comes a soft, sweet, metallic note, filled 
with a sad pathos. 
