BLUE JAY. 
135 
of indifference ; and as soon as opportunity offers, he quietly 
slips from his slandering company. Advantage in some coun- 
tries is taken of this dislike for the purpose of catching birds ; 
thus the Owl, being let out of a box, sometimes makes a hoot, 
which instantly assembles a motley group, who are then caught 
by liming the neighboring twigs on which they perch. In this 
gossip the Jay and Crow are always sure to take part if within 
sight or hearing of the call, and are thus caught or destroyed 
at will. I'he common Jay is even fond of imitating the harsh 
voice of the Owl and the noisy Kestrel. I have also heard the 
Blue Jay mock with a taunting accent the ki 00, kc 00, or quail- 
ing, of the Red-shouldered Hawk. Wilson likewise heard him 
take singular satisfaction in teasing and mocking the little 
American Sparrow Hawk, and imposing upon him by the pre- 
tended plaints of a wounded bird ; in which frolic several w'ould 
appear to join, until their sport sometimes ended in sudden 
consternation, by the Hawk, justly enough, pouncing on one of 
them as his legitimate and devoted prey. 
His talent for mimicry when domesticated is likewise so far 
capable of improvement as to enable him to imitate human 
speech, articulating words with some distinctness ; and on 
hearing voices, like a Parrot, he would endeavor to contribute 
his important share to the tumult. Bewick remarks of the 
common Jay of Europe that he heard one so exactly counter- 
feit the action of a saw that, though on a Sunday, he could 
scarcely be persuaded but that some carpenter was at work. 
Another, unfortunately, rendered himself a serious nuisance by 
learning to hound a cur dog upon the domestic cattle, whistling 
and calling him by name, so that at length a serious accident 
occurring in consequence, the poor Jay was proscribed. 
One which I have seen in a state of domestication behaved 
with all the quietness and modest humility of Wilson’s caged 
bird with a petulant companion. He seldom used his voice, 
came in to lodge in the house at night in any corner wRere he 
was little observed, but unfortunately perished by an accident 
before the completion of his education. 
The favorite food of this species is chestnuts, acorns, and 
