A BIRD-GAZER AT THE CANON 



glance to be a congener of the Florida jay, whose 

 exceeding lameness and other odd ways make so 

 lively an impression upon visitors along the east 

 coast of that peninsula. On being asked if it was 

 often seen, the man replied, " Oh, yes, it is com- 

 mon here. But it isn't a jay, is it ?" he added ; 

 and, being assured that such was the case, he 

 said, "Well, we have another jay much bigger 

 than this." At the moment it did not occur to 

 the visitor to ask for particulars ; but it transpired 

 later, as he had suspected it would, knowing from 

 the Handbook what kinds of jays might on gen- 

 eral grounds be looked for in this region, that 

 the "much bigger" bird was the long-crested 

 jay, which at the most measures about a quarter 

 of an inch more than the one, the Woodhouse 

 jay by name, about which he and the photographer 

 had been conferring. A capital example, it seemed, 

 of how much a certain style and carriage (with a 

 lordly crest) can do in the way of swelling a 

 bird's, as well as a man's, apparent size and im- 

 portance. Have we not read somewhere that 

 Napoleon could on occasion look some inches 

 taller than he really was .'' 



Meanwhile, as soon as luncheon was disposed 

 of, the bird-gazer, still with jays troubling his 

 mind, started along the rim of the Canon, pick- 

 ing his way among stones, dodging the deeper 

 211 



