_ Birds of Massachusetts. 107 
The Brue Jay, Corvus cristatus, one of the most 
graceful and elegant of all the feathered race, is very 
troublesome to other birds, which he persecutes by 
stealing their eggs, and sometimes by destroying 
their young ; but he can hardly be called a nuisance 
by the farmer, since it is only in winter, that he 
comes into enclosures in search of food, and then he 
takes little, except what has accidentally fallen from 
the corn-house or the barn. In the southern states, 
his depredations are much greater, and the planters 
soak their seed in a solution of arsenic, which proves 
fatal to the robber. These birds are said to abound 
at the south in winter; but if any really migrate 
| from Massachusetts, it must be but a small propor- 
| tion; since, if a handful of corn be anywhere thrown 
upon the snow, it will be very soon surrounded with 
| a busy and animated party ; and, bad as their repu- 
tation is, no one can help admiring their beautiful 
colors and lively motions. It is impossible to deny 
‘that their reputation is deserved. One of them, in 
Charleston, destroyed all the birds in an aviary. A 
flying squirrel was once put into the cage of a blue 
jay for one night, and on the following day, it was 
found killed and partly eaten ; but, savage as he is, 
his courage is not proof; many smaller birds will 
drive him away from their nest; he, therefore, creeps 
toit in their absence, and will thus steal round a 
whole neighborhood daily, to devour the new-laid 
eggs. He sometimes frightens away the smaller 
birds, by imitating the sparrow-hawk's voice. In - 
this power of mimicry he excels ; and when domes- 
ticated, he counterfeits the mendi and voices of the 
