THE JAY. 279 



tree at a considerable elevation above the ground, and contains from two to four eggs. There 

 are generally two broods in the year. 



The coloring of this bird is remarkable for its boldness and simplicity, consisting only of 

 two opposite tints, disposed in large and contrasting masses. The greater part of the body 

 and wings is rich jetty -black, as deep as that of the raven, and the whole back of the neck, 

 the wing-coverts, the upper and under tail-coverts, and the basil portions of the tail-feathers, 

 are pure snowy-white, so that the colonists are quite justified in the use of their popular title. 

 - In dimensions it about equals our common magpie, but does not appear to be so large a bird 

 on account of its comparatively short tail. The bill is blue-black, and the eyes are deep 

 ruddy hazel. 



The Pied Ceow Sheike is an inhabitant of New South Wales, and is very widely spread 

 throughout that coiintry. 



It is by no means a local bird, finding subsistence in almost every district, and being 

 equally found in the bushes of the coast, the mountains, and the forests. Its food is chiefiy 

 of a vegetable character, consisting of berries, fruits, and seeds, and the bird is in consequence 

 of a more arboreal character than the preceding species, which finds the greater part of its 

 nourishment on the ground. It is a stationary bird, only moving from one district to another 

 according to the season of the year, and is generally seen in little parties of five or six in num- 

 ber, which are supposed to be the parents and their young family. 



The flight of this bird is neither strong nor sustained, and it seldom takes to wing with- 

 out being forced to do so. Even when it has been obliged to entrust itself to the air, it rarely 

 flies farther than from one clump of trees to another, or across one of the deep gullies that are 

 so common in its native land. As a general rule, it contents itself with merely flitting from 

 one tree to another, and avoids any open space with great solicitude. While flying, the beau- 

 tiful black and white markings of its plumage are very conspicuous. It is a most noisy and 

 loquacious bird, possessing a loud and curioiisly ringing voice, and being so fond of exercising 

 its vocal powers that it is generally heard long before it is seen. Like the piping crow, it is 

 killed for the purposes of the table, and is held in some estimation as an article of food. 



The nest of the Pied Crow Shrike is very large in proportion to the size of the bird, round 

 in form, and cup-shaped in the interior. It is almost wholly constructed of very little sticks, 

 and is lined with dried grasses. Unlike the nest of the preceding species, it is placed in some 

 low branch of a tree. The number of eggs is three or four. The color of this species is a rich 

 deep blue-black, with the exception of the basal halves of the primary quill-feathers of the 

 wings and tail, and the tips of the tail-feathers, which are snowy-white. The bill is black, 

 and the eye bright topaz-yellow. 



JAYS. 



Inteemediate between the piping crow shrikes and the true crows, comes a group of 

 birds well known by the popular title of Jays, or the scientific name of GarruHnse, or talkative 

 birds, so called from their exceeding loquacity. The birds of this group have bills with a little 

 notch near the extremity, but they may be distinguished from their relatives by the fact that 

 the nostrils are covered by the feathers of the forehead. Their tails are generally rather long 

 in proportion to the size of the bird, and the wings are short and rounded. In some instances 

 the coloring of these birds is very fine, and it is curious that blue seems to hold predominance 

 throughout the group. 



The best known of this group is the common English Jay. It is one of the handsomest 

 of the resident birds. 



The localities which it best loves are thick woods and plantations, particularly those where 

 heavily foliaged trees are found. Sometimes, however, it is not so careful, and I have seen it 

 flitting about the topmost branches of the trees in the early morning, and pecking at the beech 

 mast with perfect unconcern, even though within a few hundred yards of houses. In general. 



