154 BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BIRDS. 



With the Redbreast, in converse, delighted was seen, 

 On abroad branching oak or some tall evergreen. 



Shakespeare has mentioned this bird nnder the name of chough, 

 in his description of Dover Cliffs, King Lear, Act Hi. Scene 6. 



" The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 

 Scarce seem so gross as beetles." - 



And Cowper has written a pleasing poem called the Jack- 

 Daw ; it begins thus : 



*' There is a bird who by his coat, 

 And by the hoarseness of his note, 



Might be supposed a crow : 

 A great frequenter of the church, 

 Where bishop-like he finds a perch, 

 And dormitory too/' 



The note, however, of the Jack-daw, is much more shrill than 

 the Crow's, and can scarcely be mistaken for it,— indeed, 

 never, by an accurate observer. 



The Glandarius, or Jay, inhabits the woods of Europe and 

 Siberia, and is well known in this country. The wing coverts 

 are blue, with transverse black and blue lines ; body pale rusty 

 purple, mixed with grey j two varieties. Thirteen inches long; 

 very docile, easily tamed, and may be taught to speak ; eggs 

 six, dull olive, spotted with brown, size of a pigeon's. Collects 

 nuts and other fruits, and hides what it cannot eat ; feeds also 

 on corn, small birds, and eggs. 



" Proud of cerulean stains 

 From heaven's unsullied arch purloin'd, the Jay 

 Screams hoarse." 



Gisborne's Walks in a Forest, — Spring. 



The Cristatus, or Blue Jay, is an elegant bird, peculiar to 

 North America ; length eleven inches ; liead with a crest of 

 light blue or purple feathers, which can be elevated or de- 



