112 THE BLUE JAY. 



appearance, the Blue Jay became more and more rare; not an individual did 

 any of our party observe in Newfoundland or Labrador, during our stay 

 there. On landing a few miles from Pictou, on the 22nd of August, 1833, 

 after an absence of several months from the United States, the voice of a 

 Blue Jay sounded melodious to me, and the sight of a Humming-bird quite 

 filled my heart with delight. 



These Jays are plentiful in all parts of the United States. In Louisiana, 

 they are so abundant as to prove a nuisance to the farmers, picking the 

 newly planted corn, the peas, and the sweet potatoes, attacking every fruit 

 tree, and even destroying the eggs of pigeons and domestic fowls. The 

 planters are in the habit of occasionally soaking some corn in a solution of 

 arsenic, and scattering the seeds over the ground, in consequence of which 

 many Jays are found dead about the fields and gardens. 



The Blue Jay is extremely expert in discovering a fox, a racoon, or any 

 other quadruped hostile to birds, and will follow it, emitting a loud noise, as 

 if desirous of bringing every Jay or Crow to its assistance. It acts in the 

 same manner towards Owls, and even on some occasions towards Hawks. 



This species breeds in all parts of the United States, from Louisiana to 

 Maine, and from the Upper Missouri to the coast of the Atlantic. In South 

 Carolina it seems to prefer for this purpose the live oak trees. In the lower 

 parts of the Floridas it gives place in a great measure to the Florida Jay; nor 

 did I meet with a single individual in the Keys of that peninsula. In 

 Louisiana, it breeds near the planter's house, in the upper parts of the trees 

 growing in the avenues, or even in the yards, and generally at a greater 

 height than in the Middle States, where it is comparatively shy. It some- 

 times takes possession of the old or abandoned nest of a Crow or Cuckoo. 

 In the Southern States, from Louisiana to Maryland, it breeds twice every 

 year; but to the eastward of the latter State seldom more than once. 

 Although it occurs in all places from the sea-shore to the mountainous dis- 

 tricts, it seems more abundant in the latter. The nest is composed of twigs 

 and other coarse materials, lined with fibrous roots. The eggs are four or 

 five, of a dull olive colour, spotted with brown. 



The Blue Jay is truly omnivorous, feeding indiscriminately on all sorts of 

 flesh, seeds, and insects. He is more tyrannical than brave, and, like most 

 boasters, domineers over the feeble, dreads the strong, and flies even from 

 his equals. In many cases in fact, he is a downright coward. The Cardinal 

 Grosbeak will challenge him, and beat him off the ground. The Red Thrush, 

 the Mocking-bird, and many others, although inferior in strength, never 

 allow him to approach their nest with impunity; and the Jay, to be even 

 with them, creeps silently to it in their absence, and devours their eggs and 

 young whenever he finds an opportunity. I have seen one go its round from 



