258 
NESTS AND EGGS OF 
and fifty ova, and from this and the preceding datum, he was led to the 
inference that the natural life of the Jay was thirty years. 
When the young birds make their appearance they are welcomed with 
demonstrations of great joy by the parents. The latter manifest much 
solicitude for their safety, and attend to their demands with the most sed- 
ulous devotion. They watch over them with unwearying vigilance, and 
actually imperil their own lives when their helpless charges are in danger. 
Earthworms, caterpillars, moths of various kinds, beetles, grasshoppers, 
acorns, berries, etc., make a voluminous bill of fare, but they are always 
carefully chosen to suit the age and condition of life. Both birds are sel- 
dom absent together in search of food. When three weeks old, the young 
quit the nest, and a fortnight later, are able to gain their own living. 
In the drawing we have delineated the appearances which the sexes 
present when they have attained their full dress. The female, which is 
shown considerably in the background, is duller than her lord and, in the 
natural state, is somewhat smaller. The mature male is purplish-gray 
below, with a tendency to whitening on the throat, belly and crissum. 
This is diversified by a black band across the lower throat, which is con- 
tinued up the sides of the neck and head to a space behind the crest, 
and, also, by a black frontlet with a whitish border. The wings and tail 
are a rich blue, with bars of black. The greater wing -coverts, secondaries 
and tail feathers, the central excepted, are broadly tipped with unsullied 
white, and the tail is much rounded. The bill and feet are black, and the 
iris of the eye of a hazel color. The length is about twelve and a quarter 
inches, wing five and thirteen-twentieths, and tail five and three-quarters. 
The eggs are rounded-oval in contour, obtuse, and pretty nearly equal 
at both extremities. They are brownish-olive on the ground, in most 
cases, although some sjjecimens show a decided olive-drab color. A few 
dai’ker olive-brown spots, however, relieve the monotony of the back- 
ground. The average size is about 1.16 inches in length, and .85 in 
width. We have seen some that varied from 1.04 to 1.21 in length, and 
in breadth from .81 to .89 of an inch. 
