habits of the Jay that s])ecial search was made for traces of birds or birds' eggs 

 in the stomachs, with the result that shells of small birds' eggs were found 

 in three and the remains of young birds in only two stomachs. Such negative 

 evidence is not sufficient to controvert the great mass of testimony on this point, 

 but it shows that the habit is not so prevalent as has been believed. Besides 

 birds and their eggs, the Jay eats mice, fish, salamanders, caterpillars, snails, 

 and crustaceans, which altogether constitute but little more than 1 per cent 

 of its diet. The insect food is made up of beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, 

 and a few species of other orders, all noxious, except some 3^.4 per cent of pre- 

 daceous bettles. Thus something more than 19 per cent of the whole food con- 

 sists of harmful insects. In August the Jay. like many other birds, turns its 

 attention to grasshoppers, which constitute nearly one-fif.th of its food during 

 that month. At this time, also, most of the other noxious insects, including cater- 

 pillars, are consumed, though the beetles are chiefly eaten in sj^iring. 



"The vegetable food is quite varied, but the item of most interest is grain. 

 Corn was found in 70 stomachs, wheat in 8, and oats in 2, all constituting 10 

 per cent of the total food. Corn is evidently the favorite grain, but a closer in- 

 spection of tlie record shows that the greater part was eaten during the first 

 five months of the year, and that \ery little was taken after May, even in har- 

 vest time, when it is abundant. This indicates that most of the corn is gleaned 

 from the fields after harvest, except what is stolen from the cribs or gathered 

 in May at planting time. 



"The Jay's favorite food is mast (/. c, acorns, chestnuts, chincjuapins, etc. i, 

 which was found in 158 of the 292 stomachs and amounted to more than 42 per 

 cent of the whole food. In September corn formed 15 and mast .35 per cent, 

 while in ( )ctober, Xovember and December corn dropped to an almost ina])- 

 ])reciable quantity, and mast amounted to 64, 82 and 83 per cent, respectively. 

 And yet in these months corn is abundant and everywhere accessible. The other 

 <^lements of food consist of a few seeds and wild fruits, amonc:^ which grapes 

 and blackberries predominate. 



"The results of the stomacli examination show. (I) that the Jay eats many 

 noxious insects; (2) that its habits of robbing the nests of other birds is much 

 less common than has been asserted: and (3) that it does little harm to agri- 

 culture, since all but a small amount of the corn eaten is waste grain." (Beal."! 



Personally, my attitude toward the Jay is that which I hold in regard to 

 the Crow. It is not unusual for the Jay to eat birds' eggs, and in so doing 

 lie does an injury which the good deeds to his credit are far from balancing. 

 As with the Crow, any one of the insect or seed-eating birds killed by a Jay 

 Avould doubtless have been more desirable than the Jay itself, and where a single 

 Jay, as often happens, destroys a whole nestful of eggs it becomes a positively 

 injurious species. I believe, therefore, that the Blue Jay is no more desening 

 of protection than is the Crow. Both birds, however, are far too interesting 

 to be exterminated, but no steps should be taken w^hich will result in their in- 

 crease. 



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