132 



THE NIDIOLOGIST 



Tree=climbing in Africa. 



TREE-CLIMBIXG in Africa is not what 

 it is in this country, but Oologists may be 

 interested in the picture we present of a 

 native using a method the reader has probably 

 often heard of for a difficult climb. The rope 

 is passed round the body and then round the 

 tree trunk, and the African ascends the oil i)alm 

 to the top in safety by gradually pushing up the 

 loop which supports him. Perhaps if the Afri- 

 can wore leather, and had a good pair of im- 

 proved climbers, he would discard the rope. 



The Blue Jay. 



IT is with deep regret that I notice a para- 

 graph going the rounds of the Ornithologi- 

 cal journals relating to the action of a 

 certain sportsman's club that offered a prize to 

 the boy who delivered the most Jays' heads. 

 Boys, especially when armed with shotguns, 

 are full enough of thoughtless cruelty without 

 being incited by the hope of reward to shoot 

 every beautiful bird they see; yet it would be 

 manifestly unjust to condemn the action of the 

 gentlemen who thus propose to wage war 

 against this bird, for their motive, beyond a 

 doubt, is merely the protection of other birds 

 against this dashing freebooter. 



Without blaming them I am sorry indeed 

 that the Jay has been in mischief again, for his 

 gay dress and sprightly manners give life and 

 color to many a spot that would be desolate with- 

 out him, and his gorgeous hues, bold cry, and 

 jaunty poise are linked with some of our 

 pleasantest memories. Who fails to recall the 

 time when he was like Maurice Thompson's 

 care-free boy, and 



" Tlie ajiple boui^hs above him flung 



'Iheir tanj^led spray-; on liigli, 

 Willi one (lark, jagged lUue Jay's nest 



Rough sketched against the sky?" 



The Jay fills a large place in poetry and in 

 bird literature. We are all familiar with "the 

 shrill trumjj of the resounding Jay," as de- 

 scribed by Henry D. Thoreau, the "soft, low, 

 musical note," mentioned by Maurice Thomp- 

 son, and the gentle song uttered in a subdued 

 undertone which Ernest Thompson tries to ex- 

 press with the syllables " sir-roo-tle, sir-roo-tle, 

 sir-roo-tle," and finally all lovers of birds are 

 acquainted with Mrs. Olive Thome Miller's 

 " Little Boy in Blue." 



In the woods in this locality the Jay is a 

 resident throughout the year, though its com- 

 parative rarity at times would suggest that many 

 individuals might have migratory tastes and 



tendencies. Within the city limits it is never 

 seen e.vcept in the spring. 



About the middle of each April two ])air of 

 them make their appearance in my yard, and 

 as no one is allowed to molest them, anyone 

 familiar with the imperious nature of their race 

 will readily surmise that they are monarchs of 

 all they survey. English Sparrows that infest 

 the shrubbery and hop about the dooryard nine 

 months in the year suddenly vanish, and for 

 three months their ubiquitous chirp and twitter 

 is heard only at a distance, while the Jays drink 

 from the well bucket, bathe in the chicken 

 trough, and claim a generous share of the house 

 dog's breakfast. I have frequently seen a Jay 

 pecking at a bone after the manner of a tame 

 Crow, and have seen one of them carry a bit of 

 hard crust to the limb of a tree and after 

 wedging it into some crack or corner peck it 

 to pieces like a Nuthatch. 



About the first of May they begin building ; 

 one pair in the old cedar, the other in the per- 

 simmon tree, though at that time persimmon 

 leaves are not out of the bud. It is, of course, 

 su])erfluous to tell you about their loosely con- 

 structed nests of coarse twigs, carelessly lined 

 with a few leaves, fibrous roots, and, perhaps, 

 a little moss, or of their four or five light-green 

 eggs, with spots of various shades, ranging from 

 light to dark-brown. 



If I should tell you how these Jays scold the 

 cat, and whip the kitten off the fence ; how 

 they found the nest that an overbold Sparrow 

 had built in the rose bush, and, in mere wanton 

 cruelty twisted the necks of the callow brood, 

 and how they once killed a snake eight inches 

 long, I would be describing such scenes as you 

 all have witnessed. 



They are tireless mischief makers, but in 

 early spring they feed voraciously on the 

 clustered eggs of the common caterpillar. 



We love them in spite of their faults, and I 

 would be sincerely glad if we could makepeace 

 with them instead of trying to exterminate 

 them. Angus Gaines. 



Vincennes, Ind. 



Late Bluebirds. 



I HAVE been out in the field many times this 

 spring, as often as I can get away from my 

 business safely, and I have not as yet set my 

 eyes on a Bluebird this year. Where are they ? 

 They are usually one of our commonest species, 

 and breed in my apple trees every year, but 

 none this year, and it worries me. There must 

 be something wrong. 



Charles K. Worthen. 



W^arsaw, 111., May 7, 1895. 



