53



cage cheap if you like ! ” I thanked him for his offer, and said

that I was sorry that I was not in want of it. He replied, “Well,

I’ll give it to you, I want to get rid of it.”


A few days later the cage came to hand—a beautiful

arrangement of brass wire and inlaid wood, just about large

enough for the Jay to turn round in ; there was no room at all for

exercise, and really it was about the most unfit cage that could

have been used. I was not surprised, after hearing that the bird

was fed on bread and milk, that it was dirty, especially when the

cage was cleaned out only twice a week ; but when I saw the cage

I was simply astounded that a man had no more sense than to

keep a bird the size of a Jay in it. The smallest cage used by

the writer, for even such birds as Unnets, is 32 inches long by

34 inches high and 24 inches wide.


A cage for a Jay should certainly be not less than the

above size; the door should be a large one, so that the interior

can be cleaned out properly every day. A small door is an

abomination, as it prevents the free movement of the arm

inside the cage. Personally, I prefer the turn-rail to a sliding

tray. My^ objection to a sliding tray is that, after any length of

time, the splashing of water, caused by the bird when it bathes,

causes the wood to warp and stick, preventing the easy with¬

drawal of the tray'-—the drawer of the cage, above mentioned,

when I tried to take it out, remained stuck to the cage, the brass

knob and veneered front coming away in my hand—whilst a

turn-rail has simply to be pulled open, and a scraper introduced

to effectually remove any excreta and refuse there may be.


The Jay f Gar ruins gland arms J is a bird which is familiar

to most dwellers in the country^, but town-folk know it as a rule

by pictures or stuffed specimens in the Natural History Museum.


In Dr. Butler’s work on “ British Birds,” it is stated that

in Kent the nest of the Jay is rarely seen. In Shropshire, round

Delburyr (or more correctly, Diddlebury) I had no difficulty in

taking several nests, and although shot by keepers, the bird is a

•common one in the district. In Hertfordshire, too, the Jay is

fairly 7 - common, although, naturally, not to the extent it is in

Shropshire ( c ).



(c) I think I only twice, or at most three times, took the nest of this bird in Kent,

but I have seen as many as five birds together on the outskirts of a Kentish wood. The

•cage in which I keep my Jay measures 5 feet 3 inches long, 3 feet 4 inches high, 2 feet

deep ; my draw-trays are of zinc and I use plenty of sand and shingle. I do not find a

daily cleansing necessary, and there is no smell.—A. G, B.


I have repeatedly seen from 10 to 20 Jays cross a ride in a wood in Kent.—E-G.B. M.-W.



