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Dr. M. Amsler — General Notes on Aviculture



Jay, of which several were imported and sold at a very reasonable

price last summer. The colour scheme is much that of the Yucatan,

but the bird is much larger and heavier and has a short tail. He

should be called the Azure Crow.


By the Avay, why are these birds called Jays? The Pileated Jay

is certainly a Jay, hut the Yucatan, at any rate, is as much a Pie as is

the Occipital Blue Pie or our own Magpie. The former certainly has

a small superciliary ridge of feathers on each side suggesting a man

who brushes his hair upwards, but there is no suggestion of a central

or movable crest.


When the Azure Jays first arrived they were placed in the same

aviary as the Yucatan Jays and a pair of King Parakeets, and for

a time I began to think that I was quite mistaken as to sexes; the hen

Yucatan insisted on feeding both Azure Jays, and one of the latter

fed the male Yucatan. However, as spring approached it became

evident that this promiscuous love-making was only a passing phase,

and the new arrivals began to have rather a poor time, although so

much larger and more powerful than their companions ; they would

soon have starved had I not removed them to another flight. I have

since had to remove the King Parakeets also, as they evidently intend

to lay on the ground as they did last year, and this would certainly

have meant loss of eggs.


So far neither pair of Jays have ever shown any sign of wishing

to build, but the season is young and I still have hopes, though

I don’t think anyone will ever make a fortune by breeding any of the

Corvidae. As I have already said, the birds are prone to devour their

own young, and I certainly think they are more resentful of inter¬

ference than most birds.


I hesitate to lay down the law, as I have only reared one bird to

maturity, but I feel very strongly that if one is to succeed when

young are hatched it is absolutely essential to give a very large

amount and variety of animal food. Young sparrows are easy to

procure and are fairly well received by the old birds; an occasional

frog is also liked, mealworms by the hundred during the first few

days, and likewise cockroaches, woodlice, earwigs, and even garden

worms; but the greatest treat you can give these birds is a mouse,



