THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY. 383 



for eggs, and suspects no guile even when it finds a nest full of fine eggs in the depth • 

 of winter. 



It also eats caterpillars, moths, beetles, and various similar insects, preferring the soft, 

 fat, and full-bodied. species to those of a more slender shape. Emits and berries form a 

 considerable portion of the autumnal food of this bird, and it occasionally makes great 

 havoc in the cherry orchards, slipping in quietly at the early dawn, accompanied by its 

 mate and young family, and stripping the branches of the bark and finest fruit. The 

 kitchen garden also suffers severely from the attacks of the Jay, which has a great liking 

 for young peas and beans. It also eats chestnuts, nuts, and acorns, being so fond of the 

 last-mentioned fruit as to have received the title of " giandarius," meaning a lover 

 of acorns. Sometimes it becomes more refined in its taste, and eats the flowers of 

 several cruciferous plants, which, according to Mudie, it plucks slowly and carefuUy, 

 petal by petal. 



The nest of the Jay is a flatfish kind of edifice, constructed of sticks, grass, and roots, 

 the sticks acting as the foundations, and a rude superstructure of the softer substances 

 being placed upon them. It is always situated at a considerable elevation from the 

 ground. There are generally four or five eggs, and the bird mostly brings up two broods 

 in the year. During the earlier portion of their existence the young birds accompany 

 their parents, and as they wander in concert, often do great damage among the gardens 

 and orchards which they visit. 



One mode of taking the Jay has already been mentioned. Fowlers, however, employ 

 several methods for the capture of this pretty bird, and find that they can catch Jays 

 better by working on their curiosity than on their appetite. None of the crow tribe seem 

 to be able to pass an owl without dashing at it ; and the birdcatchers take advantage of 

 this propensity by laying their snares in the branches of a thick bush, and fastening a 

 common barn owl in such a manner, that when the Jay makes its attack, it is arrested and 

 secured by the snare. Should an owl not be attainable, a white ferret will answer the 

 purpose equally well, the Jay having a great objection to all the weasel tribe, and 

 invariably attacking ferret, polecat, stoat, or weasel with the greatest virulence and 

 perseverance. 



In size, the Jay equals a rather large pigeon ; and the colouring of its plumage is very 

 attractive. The general tint of the upper part of the body is light reddish brown, with a 

 perceptible purple tinge, varying in intensity in different specimens. The primary 

 wing-coverts are bright azure, banded with jetty black, and form a njost conspicuous 

 ornament on the sides, as the bird sits with closed wings. The head is decorated with a 

 crest, which can be raised or lowered at pleasure, and the feathers of which it is composed 

 are whitish grey, spotted with black. There is a black streak on eacli side of the chin, 

 and the quill-feathers of the wings and tail are also black. The eye is a bright blue-grey, 

 which, when the bird is excited, can gleam with fiery rage, and together with the rapidly 

 moved crest and harsh screams gives an angry Jay a very savage aspect. 



In many points, the Blue Jay of America closely resembles its English relative, but 

 as it possesses a decided individuality of its own, it is well worthy of a short memoir. 



The Blue Jay seems to be peculiar to Northern America, and may be found among 

 the woods, where it is very plentiful, but never seems to associate in great numbers, the 

 largest flocks amounting merely to some thirty or forty members, and these only being seen 

 during a small portion of the year. Like the European Jay, it is both inquisitive and 

 suspicious, and never fails to give the alarm as soon as it sees a sportsman among the 

 trees. Many a deer has been lost to the anxious hunter through the warning cry of the 

 Jay, for the deer understand bird language quite well enough to know what is meant 

 when a Jay sets up its loud dissonant scream, and many a Jay falls a victim to the bullet 

 that had been intended for the heart of the escaped deer. Indeed, some hunters have 

 taken so rooted a dislilce to this bird, that they always shoot it whenever they see it. 



The voice of the Blue Jay is remarkably flexible, being attuned either to soft and 

 musical notes, to the harshest screamings of the hawk tribe, or the most ear-rending shrieks, 

 resembling nothing so much as tlie piercing creaks of an ungreased wheel. It is well 



