186 ON THE PLAYER'S HEAD. 



step, and has to be coaxed out and in his cage 

 every day, as we coax a startled child. 



Nothing ever interested the jay more than a 

 piano, though he is fond of any music. The 

 first time he heard one he quickly hopped across 

 to the player, pulled at the hem of her dress, 

 flew up to her lap, then her arm, and mounted 

 to her shoulder, where he stood some time, 

 looking and listening, turning his head this way 

 and that, raising his crest, jerking his body, 

 and in every way showing intense excitement. 

 Finally he took his last step, to the top of her 

 head, where he was more pleased to be than the 

 player was to have him. She put him down ; 

 and the next time he tried a different way, 

 mounted to the keys, and thence to the cover, 

 crouching and peering under the lid to see 

 where the sounds came from. Satisfied about 

 this, he returned to her head, which he evi- 

 dently considered the best post of observation. 

 Every time she played she received the devoted 

 attentions of the bird, and he could not be kept 

 away. 



My blue-jay is now a beautiful creature, in 

 perfect plumage, with breast and back plumes 

 so long that often in repose, just after he has 

 dressed them, the violet blue of the back meets 

 the light drab of his breast, on the side, cover- 

 ing his wings completely, and making a lovely 



