27 S CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



of the cage ; by the next da)-, however, all had regained their usual spirits, and, taking up seeds of 

 maize in their claws, hammered at them with such hearty good will that the noise they produced 

 sounded more like a diminutive party of smiths than the efforts of birds ; quarrels seldom occurred, 

 and the party reached Europe in excellent health and spirits, but had not been long exposed to the 

 change of climate before they began to be infested by numerous parasites, and only one survived to 

 reach London. Since this attempt of the American naturalist many Blue Jackdaws have been 

 brought to Europe, but in no instance have the efforts to naturalise them proved successful. 



THE COMMON JAY. 



The Common Jay, or Oak Jackdaw (Garmlus glandarius), is an European species, bearing no 

 inconsiderable resemblance to the American bird above described, but its beak is stronger, and the 

 tail shorter and less rounded. The plumage is silky, lax, and flowing, the feathers upon the head being 

 prolonged into a crest. Its colour is principally greyish red or greyish brown, darker upon the back 

 than on the lower parts of the body ; the rump is white, the throat whitish, and marked upon its upper 

 portion by two broad black streaks, commencing on the cheeks ; the forehead is speckled with black 

 and white ; the quills are black, with the exception of a greyish-white space upon the outer web ; the 

 tail-feathers are black, occasionally edged with blue ; the covers over the primary quills are striped 

 alternately with blue, black, and white, producing a very lustrous effect. The eye is light blue, the 

 beak black, and the feet horn colour. The length of this species is about thirteen, and its breadth 

 twenty inches ; the wing measures six and a half, and the tail five inches and three-quarters. The 

 female is somewhat smaller than her mate. 



A species closely related to this bird, but differing from it in the markings of the head, is 

 occasionally met with in the south-eastern parts of Germany ; its actual habitat, however, is North- 

 western Asia, and members of the group to which it belongs are found in Central and Northern 

 Asia. The Jay inhabits all the wooded districts of Europe except its northern parts, and is also 

 met with in Central Asia and Western Africa ; in Germany it is exceedingly common, but in England 

 somewhat scarce. This bird frequents pine forests, woodland pastures, or leafy groves with equal 

 impartiality, living during the summer in pairs, but at other seasons of the year flying over the country 

 with its companions in small parties ; it seems to avoid localities where there are no oak-trees, such 

 districts being rarely visited. The Jay is extremely restless, and though in some respects a lively and 

 interesting bird, is so crafty as to render it at times very troublesome, not only to its feathered 

 associates, but to man. When excited, it places itself in a succession of strange attitudes, and imitates 

 a great variety of sounds with amusing correctness. Whilst in a tree, its movements are light and 

 active, and its gait upon the ground by no. means awkward ; but its flight is heavy, and it rarely 

 remains for any length of time in the air, preferring to perch at short intervals upon trees or bushes, 

 using them, however, ■ not merely as resting-places, but as temporary shelter from the numerous 

 feathered enemies by whom it is constantly pursued in the course of its short excursions from one 

 wood to another. Naumann describes the dread in which many birds of prey are held by the Jays 

 as so great, that they rarely venture to congregate in large flocks, but fly apart over the open country, 

 living according to the advice of the old French maxim, " Chacun pour soi." The wonderful power 

 possessed by this species of imitating the voices of other birds is noticed by many writers. Naumann 

 heard a Jay whinny like a foal and crow like a cock ; and Rosenberg tells us that late in the autumn, 

 when seated beneath a tree, he heard one successively imitate the voices of the Magpie, the Shrike, 

 the Thrush, and the Starling, and that on searching the branches to obtain a sight of such unseason- 

 able vocalists, he discovered that all these various sounds were produced by a Jay, perched on a 

 bough just above his head. 



