254 
NESTS AND EGGS OF 
A curious behavior marks the species’ first acquaintance with human 
society. The movements of man are followed with noteworthy pertinacity, 
the slightest action being carefully scanned, but our feathered friend never 
ventures too near at first. After frequent interviews at a wary distance, if 
undisturbed, he gradually approaches nearer and nearer, and in time comes 
to regard him with kindly favor. Sometimes these advances are received 
with coldness, and the most bitter persecutions occur. When such is the 
case, the Jay takes a dislike to man, and shuns his society. In his rural 
retreats this bird is the enemy of the hunter, and often provokes his ire 
and vengeance by its tantalizing behavior. When he is in pursuit of 
game, it takes great delight in following him, and, by its seemingly dis- 
tressing cries, seeks to warn its feathered neighbors of approaching danger. 
Though occasionally found within cultivated regions, yet these birds 
affect the shelter of dense forests, where they can pursue their craft with 
undismayed tranquillity. It is in such quarters that they are mostly to be 
seen in winter, searching for the eggs of insects. When there is a scarcity 
of such diet, the fruits of the oak, beech, birch and pine are hunted and 
devoured. Large numbers of beetles, some terrestrial in habits, also contrib- 
ute largely to their sustenance. With the return of spring, insect life is 
more rife, and we find them feeding upon grasshoppers and caterpillars of 
every description. Like the Crow, the Jay is pre-eminently omnivorous, 
although preferring animal to vegetable matters. In the gratification of 
its appetite for the former, it is led to destroy the eggs and young of 
smaller birds, and even to kill those that are full-grown. Such merciless 
conduct detracts from its general good character, and often conduces to its 
destruction. But the good which it accomplishes, as evidenced above, out- 
weighs in tenfold proportion the mischief committed, and should encourage 
us to desist from our persecutions, and accord to it a generous welcome. 
Its depredations upon the garden and farm are so trivial, that they do not 
warrant the abuse which thoughtless farmers are wont to lavish upon these 
feathered benefactors. To favor our readers with some idea of the good 
which has been accomplished in some portions of the country, we cannot 
