324 PERCHERS AND SINGERS 
marauder, it is only his audacity which saves him from exter- 
mination. Externally, he is really a beautiful bird, but his 
voice is strident and unmusical. 
Beside his harsh “Jay,” a crow is a sweet songster. He 
will take your cherries right before your eyes, and then scold 
BLUE-JAY. 
you roundly for not looking pleasant about it! He robs the 
nests of other birds, eating eggs or young, whichever may be 
there; and to that extent he is a pest. During the closed 
season on eggs and young nestlings, he lives on insects—until 
berries and small fruits ripen. If Jays were as numerous as 
English sparrows, it would be necessary to reduce their num- 
ber; but they are not so numerous or so destructive that we 
need to attack them. 
STELLER’s Jay! is one of the handsomest birds of the 
moist and dark forest region of the Pacific coast, which ex- 
1 Cy-an-o-cit'ta stel'ler-i. Length, 12.50 inches. 
