3 2 ° 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
colour speckled with brown. Although a shy bird, never dwelling in the open 
country and seldom seen on the ground, the jay is thoroughly arboreal in its 
habits; and, as its name implies, is especially fond of acorns and other forest 
fruits. Nevertheless, when dwelling in woods bordering gardens, it is frequently 
tempted forth during the fruit-season to plunder the latter. Not content, however, 
with the vegetable diet, the jay rifles and destroys the nests of the smaller birds, 
consuming both eggs and callow young alike; while it also destroys a considerable 
number of pheasants’ eggs and chickens. In consequence of these thieving propen¬ 
sities, the jay is most cordially detested by the gamekeeper, who seizes every 
opportunity for shooting it; and in many districts of England, owing to such 
persecution, these handsome birds have become scarce. 
The jay flies with an undulating and somewhat heavy motion, accompanied 
by much flapping of the wings; and generally takes only short flights from tree 
to tree, although when on migration it can fly for long distances. Unlike the pre¬ 
ceding members of the family, when on the ground, the jay progresses by hopping 
instead of by walking. In its movements, when perching, it is lively and apparently 
self-conscious, the head being continually turned from side to side, the crest 
alternately raised and depressed, and the wings and tail in motion. 
A characteristic bird of the north of the Old World is the Siberian 
Jay (Perisoreus infaustus), figured on p. 313, and distinguished 
by the possession of a soft fluffy plumage, well adapted to protect its owner 
from an Arctic winter. The adult bird has the crown and nape sooty-brown, 
gradually fading in tinge as it joins the colour of the back; the upper-parts being 
dull lead-grey, washed with reddish brown, and the rump and tail bright foxy red, 
excepting the two central tail feathers. The chin, throat, and breast are grey, while 
the under-parts and flanks are bright rufous. The Siberian jay breeds early in 
the year, building its nest close to the stem of a pine or fir tree, and forming it 
principally of grey lichens closely interwoven with dry fir twigs, a few of its own 
feathers and those of the ptarmigan being inserted here and there, as also stalks of 
dry grass. The eggs vary in number from three to five, and in colour are dirty 
white, blotched with purplish grey and brown. Professor Newton writes : “ More 
sprightly and cunning birds than these jays cannot well be, whether caged or not. 
In their own woods one hears their deep ringing kook, kook, kook, followed by a 
series of noises which sound like a conversation carried on by two or three people 
in an unknown tongue. One puts up a family-party off the ground where they 
have been feasting on the berries, and away they go through the trees with their 
wavering unsteady flight, every here and there a gleam of sunshine catching their 
tails, and turning them into gigantic redstarts. Or when one halts for any 
purpose, there comes a Siberian jay, at first stealthily; but soon, if he sees no sign 
of danger to him, he displays himself openly, perching almost within arm’s length, 
ruffling his long, loose plumage, and calling to his neighbours.” 
Long-Crested A common bird in Western America, represented in Mexico by 
Ja y- the bluer Mexican jay, is the long-crested jay ( Cyanocitta macrolopha), 
which inhabits large pine forests. The upper-parts of this bird are sooty brown, 
passing on the rump and upper tail-coverts into beautiful, light, cobalt blue, which 
also occupies the lower parts. In habits it is cautious and cunning, displaying 
