BLUE JAY. 
163 
for the farmer, will visit the corn field in order to carry away the ripened grain. It is 
astonishing what an amount of corn these birds will manage to remove in a few weeks. 
When they have once found a field which is near enough to a wood for them to enter it 
unperceived, they will labor persistently until the husbandman inteferers with them by 
shooting some of the thieves or by removing his corn to the barn. Thus the provident 
Jays find a store of provisions awaiting them when the ground is covered so deeply with 
ice and snow as to be inaccessible to them. 
In flying the Jays are somewhat awkward, moving quite slowly, but among the thick 
branches of the dense woods they are perfectly at home and, as they are exceedingly watch¬ 
ful, they are very difficult to approach. If one who has had but little experience in study¬ 
ing the habits of these birds, enters a grove which is resounding with their loud cries in 
search of them, he will be surprised to find that the noise suddenly ceases. He pushes 
onward into a thicket from which the sound appeared to come only a moment before, but 
finds nothing and, after a thorough search in every portion of the woods, is obliged to give 
up the chase, unsuccessful, although the birds have not left the place and have doutlessly 
often gazed at him within gunshot. They were merely practicing the art of concealing them 
selves and in this they are almost perfect. I use ‘almost’ as a qualifying word for I long 
ago discovered a vulnerable point in their armor; unfortunately they are very inquisitive. 
As long as the intruder bustles about and shows himself, they sit very quietly in their 
hiding places or just keep out of his sight by hopping nimbly from limb to limb, but should 
he merely enter the grove and conceal himself, they appear eager to find out what he looks 
like. They go about it very cautiously, however, but right here another unfortunate trait 
discloses itself, they will not keep quiet, but at first one will begin a low muttering sounding 
exactly as if it were conversing with its companions who will then answer. Thus I have 
seen many a Jay come to grief through these two faults. 
Like the Crows, the Jays always mob an Owl whenever it ventures into their domains 
but they are usually content with simply driving it out of the woods, seldom following it 
into the open sections. They also dislike Hawks and will follow them with mocking 
cries, taking care, however, to keep well out of the way, yet will always try to annoy their 
large enemy by imitating his shrill cries. This they do to perfection for the Jays are fine 
mimics and their voices are capable of considerable modulation. Their usual notes are 
harsh and somewhat discordant yet to me it is not unpleasant, but I presume this is owing 
more to the very pleasing associations connected with them than to any harmony in the 
sounds themselves, for the cries of the Jays are oftener heard on those misty autumnal days, 
when the forests of New Englanld are so rich in color and when the air is as soft and warm 
as if the departed summer had returned. 
The Jays always seem to prefer the pine or evergreen trees and in winter they are 
seldom found far away from them, as they retreat to them for shelter during storms and 
severe weather. No matter how intense the cold, these birds manage to survive provided 
they have an abundance of food, but I have, on a few occasions, found them frozen to 
death. This was when a sudden cold snap succeeded a long rain storm, then doubtlessly 
the Jays were wet through and in this condition their feathers were not such perfect 
