BLUE JAY 
The beautiful and talkative blue jay devotes a great part of his life to 
bearing out those axioms about honor among thieves and good in the midst 
of evil. For these garrulous and audacious little birds, who live by robbery, 
murder and cannibalism, are most attentive to their young and sedulous 
in the care of their aged and infirm. One group of blue jays, indeed, has 
been observed caring for an old and partially blinded bird. 
Usually inhabiting woodlands, farms and parks, blue jays live on 
insects, snails, grasshoppers, nuts, fruits and grains. They have been known 
to kill and eat young pheasants and poultry. Blue jays utter a wide variety 
of calls and whistles and are equally adept at screaming, chattering and 
chirping. They are also excellent mimics and delight in imitating the notes 
of redtails and sparrow hawks to cause confusion among these birds. They 
migrate according to the availability of nuts, abandoning regions where 
this dietary item has given out. These and other staples are stored for 
winter use. 
Sometimes a clan of blue jays attacks a screech owl and drives it 
out of the woods. But, understanding the limits of safety, the jays do not 
pursue their enemy too far. They will also “mob” the most dangerous 
hawks, being careful to leave open a line of retreat into a dense thicket 
where the hawk cannot follow them. The din created by the jays in these 
combats often can be heard half a mile away. 
The blue jay, in nesting, prefers evergreens, but often contents itself 
with deciduous trees. A new nest is built each year from five to fifty feet 
above ground, and it is carefully wrought of sticks and twigs and lined 
with bark and feathers. Early in spring the birds begin to carry sticks for 
the nest. The sticks are never taken from the ground, but are gathered from 
trees. The pale olive-green eggs number from four to seven. After the first 
is laid, the birds cease their usual noise. Incubation requires from fourteen 
to seventeen days, and the female bird is so devoted to this task that she 
will frequently remain sitting despite intrusion. If a cat approaches the 
nest, the jays are quite capable of driving it away. 
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