BIRDS OF BRILLIANT FEATHERS. 145 



immediately recognize liis catlike " ja-ja-ja, ja, jay ! " 



Then, too, he has a 



vehement whistle : and another : 



U > > > , 



' J) P ^ ^J) 



^^ 



It is a characteristic of the blue jay that he is ever 

 on the move and never quiet when he moves ; if he 

 leaves one apple tree for another he does so vocif- 

 erously, no matter if the flight is only a matter of 

 ten feet. 



The nest of the blue jay is usually snugly fixed 

 in the crotch of a tree branch fifteen feet or so above 

 the ground. It is built mostly of small rootlets, and 

 contains from four to six brown-gray eggs marked 

 with rust-colored spots. 



The delightful, good-natured bluebird {Sialia 



sialis), whose azure wings flit with a charming effect 



of color through the thin, budding foliage of early 



April, is (excepting his blueness) more nearly like 



the English robin redbreast than any of our other 



birds ; in fact, the early settlers of New England 



called him the " blue robin." He is a sociable little 



creature, who approves of and patronizes the bird 



house, and is pleased to pick up a few crumbs from 



the piazza steps ; he even perches on the railing with 

 11 



