8 
BLUE JAY. 
family of the latter gentleman, had all the tricks and 
loquacity of a parrot ; pilfered every thing he could con- 
veniently carry off, and hid them in holes and crevices ; 
answered to his name with great sociability, when called 
on; could articulate a number of words pretty distinctly; 
and, when he heard any uncommon noise, or loud talking, 
seemed impatient to contribute his share to the general 
festivity (as he probably thought it) by a display of all the 
oratorical powers he was possessed of. 
Mr Bar tram relates an instance of the jay’s sagacity, wor- 
thy of remark. <£ Having caught a jay in the winter season,” 
says he, “ I turned him loose in the greenhouse, and fed him 
with corn, (zea, maize,) the heart of which they are very fond 
of. This grain being ripe and hard, the bird at first found a 
difficulty in breaking it, as it would start from his bill when 
he struck it. After looking about, and, as if considering for 
a moment, he picked up his grain, carried and placed it close 
up in a corner on the shelf, between the wall and a plant box, 
where, being confined on three sides, he soon effected his 
purpose, and continued afterwards to make use of this same 
practical expedient. The jay,” continues this judicious 
observer,. “ is one of the most useful agents in the economy 
of nature, for disseminating forest trees, and other ruciferous 
and hard^-seeded vegetables on which they feed. Their chief 
employment, during the autumnal season, is foraging to 
supply their winter stores. In performing this necessary 
duty, they drop abundance of seed in their flight over fields, 
hedges, and by fences, where they alight to deposit them in 
the post holes, &c. It is remarkable what numbers of young 
trees rise up in fields and pastures after a wet winter and 
spring. These birds alone are capable, in a few years’ time, 
to replant all the cleared lands.” # 
The blue jays seldom associate in any considerable numbers, 
except in the months of September and October, when they 
hover about, in scattered parties of from forty to fifty, visiting 
* Letter of Mr William Bartram to the author. 
