THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. II 
they complete in from four to five days. On the day after nidifica- 
tion ends, oviposition commences: this covering a period of from 
four to six days, according to the number of eggs which is to consti- 
tute the setting, the usual complement being five; but never more 
than a single egg is deposited daily. In color they are greenish or 
brownish-gray, spotted with olive-brown, and measure about 1.15 in. 
in length by .85 of an inch in width. 
Oviposition being completed, the ardous task of incubation next 
succeeds, and is the exclusive labor of the female for a period vary- 
ing from seventeen to eighteen days. The male, during the whole 
time, becomes a very jealous husband and a most willing provider ; 
often repairing to immense distances in search of articles of nourish- 
ment. While he is not thus engaged, he remains in close proximity 
to his home and loved one, guarding them from intrusion. His alert- 
ness and vigilance are truly remarkable, and woe be to any of the 
feathered creatures of the field or forest who is rash enough to ven- 
ture into his domain. The songs of this species differ, and having 
such a variety of notes, it is very difficult to describe them. Some 
are low and very musical, and again he may be heard screaming at 
the top of his voice. Its powers of mimicry are great, as we have 
heard it mimic the cries of the Buteo borealis, B. lineatus and Falco 
sparverius with perfect accuracy. 
Many of our older Ornithologists and others claim that the Blue 
Jay ranks next to Corvus americanus for the depredations they com- 
mit by sucking eggs and devouring the young of other birds, for Au- 
dubon, in his “Birds of America” says: “It robs every nest it can 
find, suck the eggs like the crow, or tears to pieces and devours the 
young birds. A friend once wounded a Grouse (Bousa umbellus) 
and marked the direction which it followed, but had had not pro- 
ceeded two hundred yards when he heard something fluttering in the 
bushes, and found his bird belabored by two Blue Jays, who were 
picking out its eyes. The Thrush, the Mockingbird and many oth- 
ers, although inferior in strength, never allow him to approach their 
nest with impunity ; and the Jay, to be even with them, creeps silently 
to it in their absence, and devours their eggs and young whenever he 
finds an opportunity. I have seen one go its rounds from one nest 
to another every day, and suck the newly-laid eggs of the different 
birds in the neighborhood, with as much regularity and composure as 
a physician would call on his patients.” 
