358 LIFE HISTORIES OF i^OKTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



injured in some way I went cautiously up to him, when I found that he was at 

 least partially blind. The eyes were blurred and dim, and the lids nearly closed. 

 I had little difficulty in catching him, and found him to be an old and helpless 

 creature, with scarcely a vestige of his former beauty. The beautiful blue 

 feathers were much faded; in fact, the general appearance of the bird was so 

 different as to be apparent at a glance; the claws were very much worn, the 

 bill dulled, and the primaries and tail feathers ragged. Every feature suggested 

 old age and feebleness. Yet he was cared for and watched as tenderly as was 

 ever a young bird in the nest. No sooner had I caught him than there were at 

 least a dozen Jays close at hand, whose sympathy and interest were manifested 

 as plainly as could be without Avords. After a thorough examination I liberated 

 him, when he flew in the direction of the sound of the others, but did not succeed 

 in alighting among the smaller branches of the tree, and finally settled on a large 

 limb near the ground. I saw him every day after that (from August 10 to August 

 17), and never did his companions desert him, some one of them being always 

 near and warning him of approaching^ danger, whereupon he would fly in the 

 direction indicated by the sound of their voices. They guided him regularly to 

 a spring near by, where I saw him bathe daily, always, however, with some of 

 his companions close by. They not only watched and guided him, but they 

 fed him. I had noticed, some days preAdously, some Jays carrying food, and 

 thought it strange at that season, as there were no young then to feed, but found 

 afterwards, to mj^ surprise and pleasure, that the poor old blind bird was being 

 fed by those whom he could no longer see. 



"About a week after first noticing this bird 1 was compelled, on account of 

 sickness in the family, to relinquish my observations. There is no doubt what- 

 ever that the bird was an old one. The young of the year are easily recognized, 

 not alone by their plumage, but by their peculiar teasing, whining notes, unmis- 

 takable to anyone familiar with the species."^ 



The notes uttered by the Blue Jay are quite varied. The ordinary call 

 note sounds like "djiih, djiili," and again like "kali, kah," or "peedunckle, pee- 

 dunckle," or "cable, cable, cable." I have also occasionally heard them utter a 

 shrill cry resembling that of the peacock, like "piuh, pifdi," or "tiuh,tiuh," varied 

 now and then to a loud "pa-ha, pa-lia." Occasionally, according to Mr. Preston, 

 it produces one like "sid-lit, sid-lit," elevating and lowering the body in unison 

 with this peculiar musical effort. According to Dr. P. L. Hatch, in the "Birds 

 of Minnesota" (p. 262), "it utters notes somewhat like 'hilly-hilly-hilly,' or 

 'p'wilhilly-p'wilhilly,' followed in a minute afterwards by 'hweeo-hweeo-hweeo,' 

 or 'chillac-chillac-chillac,' after Avhich comes a soft, sweet, metallic note, filled 

 with a sad pathos." 



While ordinarily a noisy bird, the careful listener may occasionally be 

 treated to quite a pleasing effort at "singing or warbling. Its remarkable powers 

 of mimicry have often been commented on, and at is astonishing how accurately 

 the Blue Jay is able to imitate the various calls, alarm notes, and cries of dis- 



I The Auk, Vol. V, 1888, pp. 434, 435. 



