BLUE JAY. 319 



presently see, he is the disturber of the general peace and creates only excitement and 

 trouble. 



Among the branches of trees the Blue Jay is perfectly at home, but on the ground 

 his movements are less adroit. His flight from tree to tree is quick and graceful, but 

 over large treeless tracts it is rather heavy and lingering. This inferiority the sly bird 

 well knows, and therefore he does not venture to leave without compulsion the pro- 

 tection of the woods. Most birds of prey are not able to capture him in the woods, 

 but they easily catch him while flying. 



Admirable is the Blue Jay's imitative power. As soon as the warm rays of the 

 spring sun fill the woodlands with new life, he shows a great difference in his demeanor-. 

 The soft mild air, the flowers of early spring, the echoing song of the Cardinal appear 

 to inspire him also with poetical feelings, if a rascal like him is at all capable of higheif 

 emotions ! We now hear not only his loud and penetrating jay, jay, but also many 

 other well imitated notes, like the common cry of the Catbird, the caw, caw of the 

 Crow, the mewing of the house cat, the barking and whining of a young dog, etc: The 

 nearer the breeding time approaches, the greater the development of the Jay's faculty bf 

 imitation. An exceedingly comical effect it produces when he mimics the call of the Spari- 

 row^ Hawk, and immediately after the frightful notes of his victim, or when he utters the 

 be-a.y, be-ay of the Red-shouldered Hawk and a moment later the anxious cries of a hen 

 dicing in his talons. The first imitations drive all the small birds to the bushes or otheir 

 hiding places, w^hile the second notes create terror and anxiety among the poultry. Every 

 fow^l tries to escape in the quickest way possible, while the gallant rooster turns his 

 head into the air to espy the supposed enemy. In such apparently malicious way he 

 often scoffs the small birds and the hens. He likewise imitates the crowing of a rooster 

 and the cackling of a hen. One day, while sitting on a log in the w^oods, to observe a 

 pair of Cooper's Hawks on and near their nest, I was startled by the persuasive call- 

 note of a hen leading her young ; an anxious cackling, as if an enemy was approaching; 

 followed immediately. When, a few moments later, I heard the painful cty of a chicken, 

 I at once rushed into the thicket whence these notes came, to scare away the robber, 

 but I only found the Blue Jay who flirted his tail in a most contemptible manner and 

 sneaked away apparently well satisfied with his mockery. 



Early in April a pair of Bluebirds began to build in a nesting box made of a piece 

 of a hoUow^ bough, and another pair selected one made of boards. In flocks of five and 

 six the Blue Jays roamed through the garden and committed all kinds of mischief. They 

 were quite a terror to the Bluebirds whom they frequently chased about. In the early 

 morning hours they visited in a sneaking manner the nesting boxes, attempting con- 

 tinuously to get into the interior. The Bluebirds fought bravely, but they were unable 

 to resist these villains. Several broods were destroyed before they succeeded to rais^ a 

 few young. When on their piratical excursions., the Blue Jays are perfectly silent, and 

 my attention was only attracted to the spot by the anxious cries of the Bluebirds. In 

 the spring following I took special precautions to protect my favorites from the murderou^ 

 attacks of these birds. I made the entrance holes of the nesting boxes smaller and 

 kept always on the watch for these rascals. Yet all care seemed to be in vain, as only 

 one brood left the nest, w^hile the other was killed w^hen first trying its ^ngs, In 



