280 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
deer, to the disappointment and mortification of the 
hunter. In the charming season of spring, when 
every thicket pours forth harmony, the part per- 
formed by the jay always catches the ear. He ap- 
pears to be among his fellow T -musicians what the 
trumpeter is in a band, some of his notes having no 
distant resemblance to the tones of that instrument. 
These he has the faculty of changing through a great 
variety of modulations according to the particular 
humor he happens to be in. When disposed for 
ridicule, there is scarce a bird whose peculiarities 
of song he cannot tune his notes to.’ 
“ When this bird discovers any one approaching 
as he nestles among the thick branches of some 
favorite tree, he sets up a sudden and vehement 
outcry, flying off and screaming with all his might, 
as if he called the whole feathered tribe of the 
neighborhood to witness some outrageous injury he 
had received. Some of his calls have been com- 
pared to the repeated screakings of an ungreased 
wheelbarrow. ‘All these he accompanies with va- 
rious nods, jerks, and other gesticulations, for which 
the whole tribe of jays are so remarkable.’ ” 
“ Isn’t he like the mocking-bird ?” asked Malcolm. 
“ Very much like him in his powers of imitation,” 
was the reply, “but he really belongs to the crow 
family, his species being Corvus cristatus, and in 
