Sept., 1907 



TWO STUDIES IN BLUE 



123 



character, I never expect to see one. They go sneaking thru the woods, steaHng 

 eggs and wrecking homes of others, and squeahng in dehght at every chance to 

 pillage — but this is legitimate in the blue jay code of morals. I have often won- 

 dered whether jays plunder other jays, or whether there is honor among bird 

 thieves. Are there robber barons among birds as among men? But doves could 

 not be more gentle and loving about the home, for the jays were devoted parents. 

 If this pair of jays carried on their nest robbing, they did it on the quiet away 

 from home, for in the thicket and only a few yards away I found a robin's nest 

 with eggs, and the nest of a thrush with young birds. Perhaps the jays wanted to 





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l^mmP.^ikk. 







NEST AND EGGS OF THE STELLER JAY IN FIR TREE 



Stand well with their neighbors and live in peace. I am sure if the robins had 

 thought the jays were up to mischief, they would have hustled them out of the 

 thicket. I think we give both the crow and the jay more blame for nest robbing 

 than they deserve; for investigation shows that they eat many insects, and in some 

 cases I have known the jays to live largely on wheat and other grains. 



Thruout the East the bluebird is known as the forerunner of spring. The 

 bluebirds are the first to return and they bring the spring with them. But in the 

 West where the winters are not .so cold, a few always stay the year around. They 

 fly together in small flocks during the day and sleep together at night. One even- 



