268 



Bird - Lore 



word, as ardent a bird-lover in the woods as he was a student of the litera- 

 ture of his subject; and when once he had entered upon his life's work, it 

 occupied his every thought. No one can be said to be familiar with 

 American ornithology who has not read ' Wilson,' and through the pages of 

 the book made the acquaintance of the author. 



Blue Jays at Home 



By WILBUR F. SMITH. South Norwalk. Conn. 

 With photographs from nature by the author 



TO those knowing the Blue Jay only as the wild, shy bird of the tree- 

 tops, so hard to approach, or, by reputation, as a thief or a robber of 

 other birds' nests, there remains a pleasure like unto finding some 

 new and rare bird, to watch a pair of Jays through the nesting season and to 

 find them so devoted to their nest and young that they lose much of their 

 shyness and allow a familiarity which very few other birds will tolerate. 



One pair of Jays built for several years in a tangle of briers near my 

 home, and the female became so tame, through constant visiting, that 1 

 could at last spread her wings and tail-feathers without her leaving her nest, 

 and even stroke her back with no further sign of disaoproval than a settling 

 lower in the nest and a parting of the bill; as six members of the local 

 Audubon Society will testify. The nest was in too difficult a position to 

 photograph, so I looked forward to the time when I could renew the Jay's 



acquaintance under more favor- 

 able circumstances, and was happy 

 this spring when, on May 5, I 

 found a nest about seven feet 

 high, in a clump of dogwood sap- 

 lings, containing five fresh eggs. 

 Patience is the key to success^ 

 with Blue Jays at least, and it 

 was needed here, for both birds 

 were very wild at first, and, in- 

 deed, the male remained so^ 

 screaming defiance, so it sounded, 

 from a distance, and leaving his 

 mate to guard the nest. Lying 

 on the ground in plain view^ 

 about twenty feet from the nest,. 

 I waited for the female to return, 

 and this she did, after much flying 

 BLUE ]AY SITTING back and forth from tree to tree» 



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