THE JAY. 
279 
tree at a considerable elevation above the ground, and contains from two to fonr eggs. There 
are generally two broods in the year. 
The coloring of this bird is remarkable for its boldness and simplicity, consisting only of 
two opposite tints, disposed in large and contrasting masses. The greater part of the body 
and wings is rich jetty -black, as deep as that of the raven, and the whole back of the neck, 
the wing-coverts, the upper and under tail-coverts, and the basil portions of the tail-feathers, 
are pure snowy-white, so that the colonists are quite justified in the use of their popular title. 
In dimensions it about equals our common magpie, but does not appear to be so large a bird 
on account of its comparatively short tail. The bill is blue-black, and the eyes are deep 
ruddy hazel. 
The Pied Crow Shrike is an inhabitant of New South Wales, and is very widely spread 
throughout that country. 
It is by no means a local bird, finding subsistence in almost every district, and being 
equally found in the bushes of the coast, the mountains, and the forests. Its food is chiefly 
of a vegetable character, consisting of berries, fruits, and seeds, and the bird is in consequence 
of a more arboreal character than the preceding species, which finds the greater part of its 
nourishment on the ground. It is a stationary bird, only moving from one district to another 
according to the season of the year, and is generally seen in little parties of five or six in num- 
ber, which are supposed to be the parents and their young family. 
The flight of this bird is neither strong nor sustained, and it seldom takes to wing with- 
out being forced to do so. Even when it has been obliged to entrust itself to the air, it rarely 
flies farther than from one clump of trees to another, or across one of the deep gullies that are 
so common in its native land. As a general rule, it contents itself with merely flitting from 
one tree to another, and avoids any open space with great solicitude. While flying, the beau- 
tiful black and white markings of its plumage are very conspicuous. It is a most noisy and 
loquacious bird, possessing a loud and curiously ringing voice, and being so fond of exercising 
its vocal powers that it is generally heard long before it is seen. Like the piping crow, it is 
killed for the purposes of the table, and is held in some estimation as an article of food. 
The nest of the Pied Crow Shrike is very large in proportion to the size of the bird, round 
in form, and cup-shaped in the interior. It is almost wholly constructed of very little sticks, 
and is lined with dried grasses. Unlike the nest of the preceding species, it is placed in some 
low branch of a tree. The number of eggs is three or four. The color of this species is a rich 
deep blue-black, with the exception of the basal halves of the primary quill -feathers of the 
wings and tail, and the tips of the tail-feathers, which are snowy- white. The bill is black, 
and the eye bright topaz-yellow. 
JAYS. 
Intermediate between the piping crow shrikes and the true crows, comes a group of 
birds well known by the popular title of Jays, or the scientific name of G-arrulinse, or talkative 
birds, so called from their exceeding loquacity. The birds of this group have bills with a little 
notch near the extremity, but they may be distinguished from their relatives by the fact that 
the nostrils are covered by the feathers of the forehead. Their tails are generally rather long 
in proportion to the size of the bird, and the wings are short and rounded. In some instances 
the coloring of these birds is very fine, and it is curious that blue seems to hold predominance 
throughout the group. 
The best known of this group is the common English Jay. It is one of the handsomest 
of the resident birds. 
The localities which it best loves are thick woods and plantations, particularly those where 
heavily foliaged trees are found. Sometimes, however, it is not so careful, and I have seen it 
flitting about the topmost branches of the trees in the early morning, and pecking at the beech 
mast with perfect unconcern, even though within a few hundred yards of houses. In general, 
