124 THE CANADA JAY. 



ally makes a low chattering, especially when agitated by the prospect of a 

 supply of food. It hoards berries, pieces of meat, &c. in hollow trees, or 

 between layers of the bark of decaying birches, by which it is enabled to 

 pass the winter in comfort, and to rear its young before the snow is off the 

 ground, and indeed earlier than any other in the Fur Countries. Its nest is 

 concealed with such care, that none of the Indians with whom I spoke on 

 the subject had seen it; but both Hutchins and Hearne informs us, that 

 'it is generally built in a fir tree, of sticks and grass; the eggs are blue; and 

 the young brood, which are quite black, take to flight by the middle of 

 May.' " 



Now, to my eye, the Canada Jay is as elegant in its movements, whether 

 perched or on wing, as any other of our Jays, although its apparel is certainly 

 very homely. It is joyous and lively at all times, even when, pushed by 

 extreme hunger, it approaches the lonely camp of the traveller, with the 

 hope of obtaining a share, however small, of his perhaps scanty fare. 



Its range is very extensive, as I have specimens procured by Mr. Town- 

 send on the Columbia river, and it has been observed by Dr. Richardson 

 as far northward as lat. 65°. The former of these naturalists states that he 

 found "these birds at the site of Old Fort Astoria, on the Columbia river. 

 They were very noisy and active; the voice is strong and harsh. The 

 Indians however say, that they are rarely seen, and that they do not breed 

 hereabouts." Mr. Titian Peale has obtained it in the neighbourhood of 

 Philadelphia, and I have the body of one procured there by himself in 

 October 1S36. 



The description given in the Fauna Boreali-Americana of the individual 

 there represented, agrees in all respects with that of the bird now before 

 you, which / saw fed several times by its parent the Canada Jay. The 

 differences pointed out as specifically distinctive are merely such as are pre- 

 sented by young and old birds of many species. 



Canada Jay, Corvus canadensis, Wils. Araer. Orn., vol. iii. p. 33. 



Corvus canadensis, Bonap. Syn., p. 58. 



Garrulus canadensis, Whisky- Jack, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 295. 



Garrdlus erachyrhynchus, Short-billed Jay, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. 



ii. p. 296. Young. 

 Garrdlus canadensis, Canada Jay, Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 232. 

 Short-billed Jay, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 599. 

 Canada Jay, Corvus canadensis, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. ii. p. 53; vol. v. p. 208. 



Upper parts dull leaden-grey; lower dull yellowish-white; forehead yel- 

 lowish-white; hind part of the head and neck greyish-black; throat and band 

 passing round the neck, greyish-white; secondary quills and tail-feathers 



