JAYS AND MAGPIES. 
251 
North America, where no gunners had ever gone 
before him, and no Jay could therefore have ever 
learned the proper distance to keep in order to en- 
sure its safety. Yet there they were, exactly like 
our common English Jays, shy and cautious, as if 
they had been hunted by sportsmen every day of 
their lives, keeping at a certain distance, with that 
occasional clatter and chattering so well known to 
those who have patiently and perseveringly pursued 
from copse to copse, or tree to tree, a disturbed 
party of these cunning birds. 
At the same time, certain birds of similar habits 
will naturally, under peculiar circumstances, act very 
differently; we have an instance of this, in the 
singular departure of the Magpie from its usual 
custom of building its nest. Everybody knows that 
where trees abound, that which is loftiest, or most 
difficult of access, is chosen; but in parts where 
there are no trees, instead of retiring to high rocks, 
and choosing places not easily approached, they will 
take possession of bushes close to the very doors of 
houses, particularly in those countries where, in- 
stead of being persecuted, they are preserved, from 
an opinion that it is unlucky to kill them. Accord- 
ingly, in Sweden and Norway, travellers are struck 
by their surprising numbers and tameness, their 
nests being built in some low bushy tree close to the 
cottage-doors, where they are never disturbed. 
The following instance, which fell under the 
observation of a gentleman when making an excur- 
sion in a remote and barren part of the north of 
Scotland, not only corroborates the statement from 
Norway and Sweden, but is attended with many 
