CROW RELATIVES 



six or eight feet from her, but only because I moved 

 very slowly. At that time I had a camera with only a 

 small lens and short bellows, and the best I could get 

 was a small picture, as she would not return while the 

 camera was set up near the nest. 



Various friends of mine have beaten me on Blue Jay 

 pictures, but some day I hope to get even with them. 

 I tried to do this last spring and had most exasperating 

 luck, though I made an encouraging start, finding three 

 nests the first day I looked. Early in May I was going 

 to a hawks' nest and passed some pasture cedars, 

 bordering the woods, when I saw a jay go skulking 

 from them. There was a nest near by, just ready for 

 eggs. This set me to searching the cedars — always a 

 favorite resort for jays — and further along I came upon 

 a jay sitting on four eggs, and further still another 

 on five. The birds were all shy, and, strange to say, 

 a few days later, every nest was deserted or robbed. 

 This only made me the more determined, and, one 

 after another, I found six more nests, nine occupied 

 nests in all, besides several other new ones that had 

 been recently abandoned. But to be brief — not one of 

 these pairs raised its family. Only three of them 

 hatched, and in these cases the young disappeared 

 before they grew a feather. I had not disturbed them 

 in any way, save one pair at whose nest I set a dummy 

 camera awhile, and I charged the mischief upon crows 

 or other jays, though I have no means of definitely 

 knowing. All I could do in line of pictures was to 



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