82 . PEAKLS AND PEBBLES. 



" Wilson's Bluebird," because of that ornithologist's par- 

 tiality for it, and it is ever cherished and protected from 

 wanton injury. It is, however, less frequently seen 

 now in the inland settlements north of the great lakes 

 than in former years. > 



Its song is soft and varied, and its lovely cerulean 

 blue color delights and charms the eye as it flits among 

 the trees in our groves and gardens. 



Its nest is placed low with us and is not very care- 

 fully concealed — so kindly is this sweet bird treated in 

 its American home that it is unsuspicious of danger 

 when paying its summer visits to us. 



Mr. Mcllwraith says that the immigrant English 

 sparrows are. to blame for the increasing rarity of the 

 bluebirds' visits to their old haunts, and closes his 

 charming book with a quotation from Wilson's lines, in 

 praise of his favorite bird. 



THE CANADA JAY.* 



If an Indian hound intrudes into the house, his 

 master dismisses him with the words, " Wis-ka-geen" 

 which mean, "Get out, lazy fellow," and the Indian 

 name for that bold, troublesome bird, the Canada Jay, 

 the pest of the lumberer's camp in the North- West, is 

 very similar, " Wis-ka-Tjan." This the Hudson Bay 



•The C mala Jay— Perisoreus Canadensis. Indian name, " Wis-ka 

 Tjan "—"Whiskey Jack." 



