Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-05
THE SAUCY BLUE JAY
HE'S NOT A DEVOURER OF EGGS
AND FLEDGLiNGs.
On the Contrary He's Pretty Good
Sort of Bird to Have
Around.

A few days ago | received a letter from
a lady whose tender heart is filed with in
dgnation because the thoughtIess boys in
her neighborhood have declared war ON
the blue jays. The boys. ii l understand
the case have no intention of wrongdoing:
on the other hand they seem To be under
the impression that they are comforting II
benefit on bird and man. by Kidding tho
community of u confirmed devourer of eggs
and nestlings.
Before denying the righteousness of the
warfare. it seems fair to ask from what
source comes the Information concerning
the blue jays villainy. Have these boys
actually seen great numbers of bird homes
destroyed that the jays might stay their
hunger? If they have, then | beg them TO
let no word of mine interrupt their useful
work; let them load their guns to the muz-
zle and give no quarter. Otherwise. per-
haps it may be well for them to pause and
consider whether they are really waging a
righteous war or whether thew are merely
killing helpless creatures which they have
condemned to death on hearssy evidence
There is a law in all civilized countries to
the effect that when a citizen is charged
with an offense he is entitled to a fair
trial, and that he may not be punished
unless he is actually proven guilty beyond
reasonable doubt A few years ago the
blue jay was brought to the bar. of Justice
charged with the destruction of eggs and
neStlings. He was tried mpartially by
competent judges, who heard and weighed
the evidence for and against as carefully
as though mans life had been at stake
and the expenses of the trial were paid by
the United States government. The princi-
pal witnesses in the were a few men
who testified that they had seen the blue
jay eating eggs and fedgiings and two
hundred and ninety-two blue jays all OF
whom gave their lives that they might be
present at the trial, and of whom two
hundred and eighty-seven testified positive
ly to the falseness of the charge.
Acquitted of the Charge.
The evidence for the defendant was 81
overwhelming that the jury returned
verdict of mot guilty without leaving In,
court room. This is of course lust on,
way of telling the story, which is nevertha-
less true one. The United States govern
ment in 1896 caused the food of the blue
jay to be made the subject II a rigid in
vestgation. An examination was made of
two hundred and ninety-two stomachs of
blue jays, collected in every month of the
year, from twenty-five states. the District
of Columbia and Canada
In only five of all these stonachs were
there found the remains of birds or of the
shells of small birds eggs OF the three
egg shells found in three of the stomacbs
one and probably two were empty shells
eaten after the young had been Matched 1t
might be claimed that the jays often cat
the contents of eggs without swallowing
the shells, but by giving eggs to captive
jays it has been shown that the birds ara
even more anxious for the shells than for
the contents.
What Was Learned
A great many other facts came out et
this investigation. 1t was shown that more
than three-fourths of the bluejay's food
consists of vegetable matter and that of
the animal food the greater part was made
up of insects, though there was small per
centage of spiders, myrapods. snails. fish.
salamanders, tree frogs, mice and birds
Most of the insect food consisted of beetles
grasshoppers and caterpillars. and besides
these there were few bugs, wasps and
flies.
1t was found that blue Jays eat insects
every month of the year and the proportion
of insect food varies from one Der cent i'm
January to over sixty per cent in August
the average for the year being nearly TWEEN
ty-three per cent. Destructive grasshop-
pers, cr1cketS and locusts begin to form an
important item in the blue jays bill of fare
as early as July, amount to nearly twenty
per cent of his food during August and he
continues to eat them in considerable num-
bers until December. Amongst the cater
pillars to which the bird gives his atten-
uon may be mentioned those of the brown
tail and gypsy moths which work such
havoc In the trees in certain parts Of the
country
Not Really an Enemy.
OF course those who are in favor of the
destruction of the blue jay will return to the
attack and tell us that since it is admitted
that over three-fourths of the birds food
consists of vegetable matter and since his
fondness for corn, fruit and other farm pro-
duce is well known, he must cause the far
mer enormous losses.
Let us examine the evidence The vege-
table food of the blue Jay was found to con-
sist OF mast such as acorns chestnuts
beechnuts, hazelnuts and sumac; grain
such as corn. wheat. oats and buckwheat;
fruit, such as apples, Stra wberTies black
berries mulberries, blue berries, huckleber-
ries, wild cherries, chokeberries wild grapes
and eldarberries, and miscellaneous things
such as oak gals mushrooms and tubers
Now for the proportions. The mast amount
ed to forty-two per cent of the whole food
for the year, corn less than eighteen per
cent, wheat, oats and buckwheat together
rather more than one and half per cent
The apples were found only in January
February and March, and consequently
were merely frozen fruit left to decay on the
trees. OF the many fresh fruits eaten be-
tween March and October. only four straw
berries, currants. blackberries and muiber-
ries were of the kinds which are cultivated.
The miscellaneous things were found in but
a few stomacis, and constituted but very
small percentage of the whole food
On the whole, 1t was found that the blue
jay was q most desirable bird to have
either as ally OF the farmer who pays
but a meager pittance for benefits received.
or as a handsome, jolly neighbor, who is
with xs the year round and who cheers us
with his bright plumage and clever mimcry
when bird life is at its ebb
ERNEST HARALD BAYNE,S.
Gounod's Statue in Paris.