THE BLUE JAY. 359 



tress of other birds, and of many mammals as well. These will readily deceive 

 anyone, and the Blue Jay seems to delight in playing tricks on its unsuspect- 

 ing neighbors in this manner, apparently out of pure mischief. They are espe- 

 cially fond of teasing Owls, and occasionally Hawks also, but sometimes with 

 disastrous results to themselves. While in the woods they are comparatively 

 safe; but if one ventures into the open, and the Hawk should get tired of its 

 tormentor and turn on him, the consequences are usually serious for the Blue 

 Jay. His flight is laborious and accomplished only with a good deal of flap- 

 ping of the wings. He is no match for our smaller Hawks; and even a King- 

 bird never fails to attack a Blue Jay most vigorously, should it chance to catch 

 one while flying from one wood to another or come anywhere in the vicinity of 

 its nesting site. The Blue Jay knows this, and stays therefore as much as pos- 

 sible in the timber. They are usually found about the edges of clearings, and 

 not infrequently nest in close proximity to houses, where, if not molested, they 

 become very tame and are soon perfectly at home. 



Their food consists of all sorts of animal matter, offal, insects, grasshoppers, 

 grubs, worms, mice, etc., and, when procurable, the eggs and young of smaller 

 birds, varied with acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, corn, and fruits of different 

 kinds. They are not at all particular when hungry, but will eat almost any 

 thing, and have been seen picking- up raw potato peelings, old dried-up apples, 

 etc. Where they are resident they lay up quite a store of acorns, corn, and nuts 

 in various places for winter use, but where they are only summer visitors they 

 do not resort to this practice. In the fall they congregate in large flocks pre- 

 paratory to their migrations. They usually leave their summer homes in the 

 latter part of September, returning again late" in April or early in May. 



Mr. W. W. Cooke states: "The Nueces Canyon, in southwestern Texas, is 

 said to be the winter home of countless myriads. In that case they must migrate 

 to the northeast, for all observers agree that in northwestern Texas they are 

 rather a rare bird." 1 



Throughout the greater part of the year the Blue Jay is a more or less 

 restless, noisy, and roving- bird, moving in little companies from one wood to 

 another; during the nesting season it becomes more quiet and retiring, and is 

 less often seen or heard. It prefers mixed woods to live in, especially oak and 

 beech woods, but for nesting sites dense coniferous thickets are generally pre- 

 ferred; oaks, elms, hickories, and various fruit trees, thorn bushes, and shrubbery 

 overrun with vines are also used, the nests being placed in various situations,, 

 sometimes in a crotch or close to the main trunk, or on the extremity of a hori- 

 zontal limb, among the outer branches. They are placed at distances from the 

 ground varying from 5 to 50 feet, but usually below 20 feet. In the more 

 southern parts of their range nest building begins in the latter part of March, 

 and full sets of eggs may be looked for by April 15. In our Middle States it 

 nests a couple of weeks later, and in the northern portions frequently not before 

 June. I believe but one brood is usually reared in a season, but in the South 

 they may occasionally raise two. 



■Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, Bulletin II, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888, p. 157. 



