THE JAY. 



Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 19. 



The Jay is a resident and fairly common bird in the woodland districts of 

 England and Wales, though much scarcer and more local in Scotland and in 

 Ireland. Over the greater part of Europe it is also found, where the surroundings 

 suit its habits. It is said to have been more plentiful formerly in our country, 

 before the days of game preservation ; nevertheless, owing to its intelligence and 

 wariness, it still holds its ground, wherever there are large tracts of wood and 

 coppice. 



I have lately had under observation a nest of the Jay, which was placed in a 

 Scotch fir, about ten feet from the ground, and built in a fork where the branches 

 join the trunk. It was composed of twigs of the birch and other trees, with a 

 lining of finer twigs of birch and roots. The five or six eggs are greenish-white, 

 minutely speckled with olive-brown. 



While the nest is being made, and until the young have left it, the parent birds 

 are never heard and seldom seen, approaching it silently by roundabout ways, 

 unless the nestlings are interfered with, when the female utters harsh screams and 

 at times a curious cat-like call. 



In the nest which I observed the young were also absolutely silent, unless 

 handled or alarmed by anyone climbing their tree. The colour of their eyes was 

 a bluish-grey, not brown, as it is sometimes said to be. 



The food of the Jay consists of various nuts and berries, also of the eggs and 

 the young of other birds. 



Its usual call-note is harsh and strident, and sometimes the notes of other birds 

 are imitated. 



The female is rather duller in her plumage than the male. 



In Ireland the general colour of this species is said to be of a warmer tint. 



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