THE BLUE JAY. 
( Cyanocitta crista’ta.) 
URPLISH BLUE, below pale purplish gray, whitening on 
the under parts. A black collar on lower throat and up 
the sides of the neck and head behind the crest. Black 
frontlet bordered with whitish. Tail feathers, except 
the central, broadly tipped with pure white. Tail much rounded. 
Length 11 to 12 inches. Extent 16 to 17. Female not 
so richly colored. Eastern North America. Half migratory. 
Nest in trees or bushes, or any odd nook, large and substantial. 
Eggs five to six, drab colored, with brown spots. 
One of Miss Sweet’s pupils had a talent for draw- 
ing, which had been carefully cultivated. The pupils 
in this school were inclined to give good-natured 
nick-names to each other, so he was dubbed ‘‘Artist.” 
He had come early to school and drawn in colored 
chalk a beautiful Blue Jay, perched on a dead limb just 
over the “table” which Laura had put upon the black- 
board the night before. This was a pleasant surprise 
to both teacher and pupils. 
“Y saw several Blue Jays in our garden this 
morning,” said Laura. ‘They were on the evergreens. 
They looked beautiful with their blue coats against 
the dark green background.” 
“TI saw one when I first got up this morning,” 
said “Artist,” “and it was the real bird that suggested 
the picture.” P 
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