328 THE FAY. 
bait, and it is a curious fact that the Jay does not seem to be aware of the 
right season for eggs, and suspects no guile even when it finds a nest full of 
fine eggs in the depth of winter. 
It also eats caterpillars, moths, beetles, and various similar insects 
preferring the soft, fat, and full-bodied species to those of a more siei der 
shape. Fruits and berries form a considerable portion of the autumnal toud 
of this bird, and it occasionally makes great havoc in the cherry orchaids, 
slipping in quietly at the early dawn, accompanied by its mate and young 
family, and stripping the branches of the bark and finest fruit. The kitchen 
garden also suffers severely from the attacks of the Jay, which has a great 
liking for young peas and beans. It also eats chestnuts, nuts, and acorns, 
being so fond of the last-mentioned fruit as to have received the title of 
glandarius, meaning ‘“‘a lover of acorns.” Sometimes it becomes more re- 
fined in its taste, and eats the flower of several cruciferous plants, which, 
according to Mudie, it plucks slowly and carefully, petal by petal. 
The nest of the Jay is a flattish kind of edifice, constructed of sticks, grass, 
and roots, the sticks acting as the foundations, and a rude superstructure of 
the softer substances being 
placed upon them, It is 
always situated at a con- 
siderable elevation from the 
ground. There are gene- 
rally four or five eggs, and 
the bird mostly brings up 
two broods in the year. 
In size, the Jay equals a 
rather large pigeon; and 
the colouring of its plum- 
age is very attractive. The 
general tint of the upper part 
of the body is light reddish 
brown, with a perceptible 
purple tinge, varying in in- 
tensity in different specimens. 
The primary wing-coverts 
are bright azure, banded 
Jay.—(Garrulus glandarius.) with jetty black, and form 
a most conspicuous orna- 
ment on the sides‘as the bird sits with closed wings. The head is decorated 
with a crest, which can be raised or lowered at pleasure, and the feathers of 
which it is composed are whitish grey, spotted with black. 
THE true CROWS are known by their beaks, which have no tooth in the 
upper mandible, and by their wings, which are toleratly long and ample. 
There are very many species spread over the world, and they are well repre- 
sented in our own country. 
THE first of these birds on our list is the celebrated RAVEN, our finest 
representative of the family. 
This truly handsome bird is spread over almost all portions of the habit- 
able globe, finding a livelihood wherever there are wide expanses of un- 
cultivated ground, and only being driven from its home by the advance of 
cultivation and consequent inhabitance of the soil by human beings. It isa 
solitary bird, living in the wildest district that it can find, and especially 
preferring those that are intersected with hills. In such localities the Raven 
reigns supreme, hardly the eagle himself daring to contest the supremacy 
with so powerful, crafty, and strong-beaked a bird. 
