A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 637 
Schwarz says : ‘ The facts, on the whole, speak overwhelm- 
ingly in favor of the Crow.’ 
“ In estimating the economic status of the Crow, it must be 
acknowledged that he does some damage, but, on the other 
hand, he should receive much credit for the insects which he 
destroys. In the more thickly settled parts of the country 
the Crow probably does more good than harm, at least when 
ordinary precautions are taken to protect young poultry and 
newly-planted corn against his depredations. If, however, 
corn is planted with no provision against possible marauders, 
if hens and turkeys are allowed to nest and to roam with their 
broods at a distance from farm buildings, losses must be ex- 
pected.” — F. E. L. Beal. 
Subfamily Garrulinae: Jays 
Blue Jay : Cyanocitta cristata. R. 
Length: 11-12 inches. 
Male and Female: Lead-blue above, head finely crested, a black collar 
uniting with some black feathers on the back. Below grayish 
white. Wing coverts and tail a bright blue barred transversely 
with black. 
Song: A whistling bell note in the breeding season, the usual cry a 
screaming “Jay, jay, jay!” 
Season: Resident. 
Nest: Bulky, in appearance like that of the Crow, but only one-quarter 
the size. 
Eggs: 5-6, about an inch long and broad for the length, brownish gray, 
with brown spots. 
When you see Jays in small flocks circling the trees in 
early spring and gathering their crop of chestnuts in the fall 
and acorns in early winter, you admire their brilliant coloring, 
jaunty crest and bold flight, merely wishing perhaps that their 
cry was less harsh. 
But how do these birds amuse themselves in the period be- 
tween April and September, in their breeding and moulting 
season, when they are comparatively inconspicuous, for they go 
into the woods to breed and become almost silent, — it is a case 
of still waters running deeply? Day by day they sally out of 
their nesting-places to market for themselves and for their 
young, and nothing will do for them but fresh eggs and tender 
squabs from the nests of the song birds ; to be followed later 
by berries, small fruit, and grain. 
