THE BL/UE JAY. 
203 
month, we thought our winter friends had flown. One 
morning the last of April I looked out and the ten beauties 
were scattered among the trees, calling to each other. Such 
a noisy concourse it was, but discordant as it appeared to 
be, we all enjoyed this farewell visit, as it proved to be. 
It has been said that the jay lays her eggs in the nests 
of other birds, but this is not true as I have seen their nest 
and eggs. It is usually built in a tree crotch, fifteen or 
twenty feet from the ground. It is rather a rude structure 
built of twigs and strong roots but the lining of the nest is 
much finer than the outside. The nests I examined were 
in a scrub oak and cedar but we found another in a maple 
too high for inspection. The eggs, four to six in number, 
are pale olive gray, dotted with cinnamon brown. Both 
the male and female help each other in building the nest, 
and their family relations seem as happy as those of other 
birds, as far as I can see. 
The jay is an insectivorous bird and also very fond.of fine 
seeds, such as he finds in many noxious weeds, and while 
these food supplies can- be found he will not visit the haunts 
of man. Thus he not only destroys many injurious insects 
but prevents the spread of numerous weeds. He is said to 
devour young birds and eggs, but statistics show that these 
are not his regular diet, for out of two hundred and eighty 
stomachs examined, only three showed traces of eggs and 
two of young birds. 
I have found it impossible to attract jays to the house 
while their natural food supply can be obtained. When 
deep snows lie upon the ground they are driven to seek 
elsewhere, and then will take any kind of food gratefully. 
