Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-06-20
ADovr THE BLUE JAY.
\ Handsome Bird Which 10 = Bully
and = Coward.

a handsome Bird Which 10 = euIIy
and . Coward.
From tall, straight chestnut trees q
strong, vigorous note sounds afar.
jayI jay! jay The note moves
about. falling successfully from dif-
ferent but not very distant spots. In
Q few moments the eye lights upon
It's source-it Is the blue jay, the
handsomest and most mischievous Of
our birds. His pale blue crest dis
tinguishes him ut once; so do the
white bars on wings and tail, brilliant
dark blue wings and tail, pale throat
decorated with trim black collar ;
sharp black bill that carries menace
to the timid. set firm in front OF the
strong, erect head. 1t Is a large bird,
nearly twelve inches long. or about
the size of the blackbird
The bluejay has had a great share
of attention from our writer's. Long
ago Audubon watched its habits
closely as he followed 1t from its win
ter quarters In Carolina to It's sum-
mer breeding places at the North.
He says little good of it, for 1t is a
predatory creature. robbing every
nest it can find and sucking the eggs
like crow or tearing in pieces and
devouring the young. Zone OF my
friends" he says, put q flying
squirrel into the cage Of blue jay,
merely to preserve it over night. but
on looking into the cage tho next
morning he found the squirrel partly
eaten !" A jay destroyed all the birds
in an aviary belonging to man in
Charleston. One after another had
been killed; the rats were suspected,
but no crevice could be found large
enough to admit one. Then the mice
were accused and war waged against
them, but still the birds continued
to disappear, first the smaller, then
tho larger, and finally the large Key
West pigeons. At length the jay
was found to be the destroyer. He
was taken out and placed in cage
with quantity OF flour and several
small birds which we had just killed.
The birds he soon devoured, but the
-four he would not touch, and, refus-
ing every other kind of food, he soon
died. Audubon undertook to natu-
ralize these birds in England. He
went to the trouble of purchasing
twenty or more of them to be sent to
England and turned out in the woods
there. He records some lively studies
of them as they were slowly gathered
into the big cage he had ordered.
II was surprised" he says, ito
see how cowardly each newly caught
bird was when introduced to his
brethren who, on being in the cage
a day or two, were as gay and frolic-
some as il in the woods. The new
conner, on the contrary, would run
into corner, place his head almost
in perpendicular position and re-
main silent and sulky, with an ap-
pearance of stupidity quite foreign
to his nature. He would suffer all
the rest to walk over him and tram
pie him down without ever changing
his position. II corn or fruit was
presented to him or even close to
his bill he would not so much as
look at it. If touched with the
hand he would cover, lie down on
his side and remain motionless. The
next day, however, things were al
tered; he was again jay. taking up
corn, placing it between his feet,
hammering it with his bill splitting
the grain, picking out the kernel
and dropping the divided husks.
When the cage was filled it was
amusing to listen to their hammer
ing, all mounted on their perch,
side by side. each pecking at a grain
of maize like so many blacksmiths
paid by the piece. They drank
great deal, roasted very peaceably
close together and were very pleas
ing pets"
They bore the sea voyage apparent
ly well. but all died soon after reach
ing Liverpool. These birds are very
expert in discovering any quadruped
hostile to birds. They will follow a
cat or fox, making great cutlery.
as IL they would bring every jay and
crow to their aid. They are more
tyrannical than brave, domineer over
the feeble, dread the strongest, fly
even from their equals. In many
cases they are downright towards.
The cardinal bird will challenge jay
and beat him of his ground, though
a much smaller bird; but with birds
as with men, little honest courage
goes long way against q thief He
creeps silently to the nests OF absent
birds, will go the rounds from one
nest to another every day and suck
the newly laid eggs. as regularly as
physician would call upon his pa
tents. But the advantage is not al
ways on his side, for on his return he
sometimes finds his nest upset. the
eggs all gone and his mate in the
laws Of q snake.