136 



THE XIDIOLOGIST 



The Crows, Jays, and Pies of 

 Michigan. 



BLUE JAY, Cyanoiitta cristata, L., abun- 

 dant, aggressive, companion able, and well- 

 known resident. There is ])robably no 

 bird which is as well distributed in the State 

 as the jileasing. gaudy, comical Blue Jay. I 

 have found him most everywhere in my ram- 

 bles in both Peninsulas, at the Sault, Mackinac 

 Island, St. Ignace, and in eleven counties in the 

 Lower Peninsula ; from the Detroit River on 

 the east to Lake Michigan on the west. Every 

 list in the State records him, and he has been 

 known since the earliest observer reached the 

 State. 



.•\s a resident in our cities and villages he is 

 oftener brought to our notice than is any other 

 bird of our Slate, and deserves our admiration 

 for his many sterling qualities. 'I'he Robin, so 

 favorably known, and nearly all other familiar 

 summer birds, leave us for more congenial 

 (juarters in the fall or early winter, but the Jay 

 appears to enjoy himself in the coldest winter 

 weather, and shrieks his defiance at old Boreas, 

 or twitters his contentment from the branches 

 of a sheltering evergreen. Go where you will, 

 in deepest swamps or upland woods, the 

 orchard or country hedgerow, winter or sum- 

 mer, in fair weather or foul, and you will 

 always find the 131ue Jay. He may be in seclu- 

 sion and not to be seen on our first visit to a 

 neighborhood, but if we are patient we are sure 

 to meet with him in any quarter, and hear his 

 Unid, defiant scream ; or the low chatter or 

 chuckle may emanate from the bushy tree, 

 where he usually builds his durable, massive 

 nest. Wherever I have wandered, either in the 

 deep, and generally silent yet whispering 

 prairies, the oak openings, which occupy so much 

 space in southern Michigan, or the low, partly- 

 wooded lands, I have always found this irre- 

 ]jre>sible, flaunting, blue mimic. His derisive 

 scream has startled me in the quiet of thickets 

 where I least expected his presence, while his 

 quaint ways have amused me when deer hunt- 

 ing, and his finer musical efforts and odd 

 (juirks and (juavers have solaced me a thousand 

 times when tired from a long walk, or when 

 taking a tramj) in the country, away from the 

 worry of the day. 



His general call note may be best described 

 by the wordy^v, repeated generally from four to 

 si.x times. It is fierce and loud, but his man- 

 ners are defiant and his attitude a bluff; for, 

 although ])Ossessed of great strength, he may be 

 cjuickly put to flight by a small bird. I have 

 seen Robins, Orioles, and other smaller birds 

 chase him about. When thus pursued he gen- 



erally plunges into the bushy top of some tree 

 or shrub. 



Another call is ^''ke-ter-o," the same being ac- 

 companied by a teetering motion and elevation 

 of the tail, ludicrous in the extreme. An imi- 

 tation of the notes of the Red-shouldered Hawk 

 is often given, and is so good as to deceive 

 many. I have often thought that the Jay gave 

 this call for effect; perhaps to frighten smaller 

 birds, thereby to accomplish his ends. It is 

 probable, though, that the notes aretheirown. 



Then there is the song of the Jay, rarely 

 heard, except by the close observer. In some 

 respects it much resembles the low, querulous 

 notes of the Catbird, and is equally varied. 

 Guttural notes predominate, but these are often 

 varied by (juavers ^nd. putters, given in a pleas- 

 ing style, and always accompanied by grotesque 

 motions of the bird. 



The Jay is omnivorous, and there is scarcely 

 any kind of food, dead or alive, that he will 

 ignore. A pet bird greedily devoured raw 

 meat, both fat and lean, while seeds of various 

 kinds and fruits are acceptable. In winter I 

 have seen him tear o])en the cocoons of the 

 cccropia moth, and undoubtedly is of service to 

 the agriculturist in destroying pupa of many 

 injurious species of insects. Acorns form a 

 staple of food, and at times the Jays feed upon 

 them largelv. It is an interesting sight to 

 watch a bird ])lace an acorn between his feet 

 on a limb, and hammer off the shell with his 

 ])owerful beak. Nor is the sly, unconscionable 

 fellow averse to eggs and young birds, and he 

 will plunder any nest when the old birds are 

 not on hand to defend it. In the fall I have 

 seen him feeding on the wild grapes, and in 

 the winter he often tears out the seeds of the 

 sunflower, and will even cut into decayed 

 apples, eating the seeds probably. In times of 

 scarcity I have known him to enter the feeding 

 grounds of the barnyard fowls and pick up 

 grains of corn. 



In the month of May, rarely in April, he 

 lays five speckled eggs, sometimes six. These 

 are placed from seven to forty-five feet from 

 the ground, generally about twenty feet up. 

 The nest is made of twigs and roots, lined with 

 finer roots. I do not think two broods are ever 

 reared. 



Canada Jay, J\nisorcus canadi'nsis, L. This 

 peculiar bird also has the names of \Vhisky- 

 jack. Tallow Bird, and Deer Hawk. The latter 

 two names are given it because of its presence 

 in the vicinity of deer carcasses about cam])s, 

 when it bites into the meat, more particularly 

 the fat. It is omnivorous like the Blue Jay, but 

 is largely a flesh feeder in winter. It has been 

 known to eat pieces of soap in the northern 

 camps, and is considered a very persistent and 



