C. glandarius, Lin. &c. Garrulus glandarius, Cuv. and Vieill. Jay. The body of a wine buff colour ; the head white, with black streaks ; the wing coverts marked with blue and black bars, and the tail black. Length of the body about thirteen inches, extent of wing twenty two, and weight from seven to nine ounces. This bird, which is of a moderately thick and stout form, is the must elegant of the tribe that is indigenous to Great Britain. Owing to the wideness of its gullet, it swalloWs acorns, fil berts, and even chesnuts, entire. Its treatment of the flower-cup of a pink is, however, very different ; for, if one be thrown to it, it will sieze it greedily, and, if others be offered, it will continue to snatch them till its bill can hold no more. When it wants to eat these, it lays aside all but one, holds it with the right foot, and plucks off the petals, one by one, keeping a watchful eye all the time, and casting a glance on every side ; at length, when the seed appears, it devours it eagerly, and proceeds to pluck a second flower. These birds are great consumers of fruit and grain, especially of those already mentioned, as well as beech-mast, peas, sorbs, cherries, &c. They also frequently plunder the nests of smaller birds of their eggs and young, and sometimes even pounce on the old birds, and on mice. When they feed on the former, they begin by tearing out the eyes and brain. It is commonly al leged, that they hoard acorns for the winter ; but their supposed magazines in the woods belong to squirrels, or some of the murine tribe. Yet it is by no means impro bable that they pillage these stores, when they happen to fall in with them ; and it is well known that in the do mestic state, like others of the family, they not only con ceal their superfluous provisions, hut purloin any glitter ing object within their reach. If they perceive in the wood a fox or other ravenous animal, they utter a shrill scream to alarm their companions, which quickly assemble, as if solicitous to appear formidable by their noise and number. On seeing a sportsman, a jay will sound the same note of alarm, and thus frustrate his aim.
This species occurs in various temperate parts of Eu rope and the corresponding latitudes of Asia, frequenting wooded tracts, but not in flocks. It commonly breeds once or twice a year, in woods remote from human dwellings, preferring high coppices, or hedges, or branchy oaks, whose trunks are entwined with ivy. Here, in the month of May, or near the end of April, they build their nests, which are hollow hemispheres, formed of sticks, with small interlaced roots, open above, without any soft lining, or exterior defence. The eggs, which are from four to seven, are smaller than those of a pigeon, and somewhat resemble those of the partridge, being grey, with more or less of a greenish tint, and with small olivaceous brown spots, faintly marked. The incubation lasts thirteen or fourteen days. The young undergo their moulting in July, and generally keep company with their parents till spring, when they separate, and form new pairs. By this time, too, the blue plate on their wings, which appears very early, has attained its highest beauty. When full
grown, the jay is extremely shy ; but, if taken from the nest, it evinces great docility. Its common notes bespeak a wonderful flexibility of throat ; for it naturally imitates the sounds with which it happens to be most familiar, as the bleating of a lamb, the mewing of a cat, the cry of a kite or buzzard, the hooting of an owl, the neighing of a horse, &c. These imitations, Col. Montagu observes, are so exact, even in the wild state, that he has been of ten deceived by them. We need not wonder, then, that it is capable of being taught to articulate various words, and that it is frequently procured for that purpose. The French allege that Richard is the name which it learns to repeat with the greatest readiness. In the Greek islands, in particular, it is often tamed on account of its singular loquacity. Its keen sensations and quick movements seem to be intimately connected with the petulance of its disposition. In its frequent sallies of rage, it hurries into danger, and often entangles its head between two branches, and dies, thus suspended in the air. When conscious of restraint, its violence exceeds bounds, and hence, in a cage, it is constantly rumpling, wearing, and breaking its feathers. During winter, jays seem to pass much of their time in the hollows of trees, but they come fot th in the mild days that occasionally happen in that season. They likewise sometimes migrate in quest of a warm climate. In certain parts of the Levant, they ar rive in troops about the beginning of autumn, and depart early in the spring. In a domestic state, the jay has been known to live from ten to eighteen years ; but it is said to be subject to epilepsy. Its flesh, though eatable, is not generally relished ; but if first boiled and afterwards roast ed, it is said to taste like goose, and when young, and in plump condition, it sometimes passes at French tables for the thrush.
cristatus, Lath.; Garrulus cristatus, Cuv. and Vieill ; Blue Jay of Catesby and Edwards. Crested blue above, sub-•osaceous beneath, collar black, wings and cuneated tail barred with black. A most elegant species, ten inches nine lines long ; not less lively and petulant than the preceding, but destitute of its hoarse clamour, its note being far from disagreeble, although very remote from the song ascribed to it by Pennant. Its general man ners correspond with those of the European jay. It is pretty generally spread over North America, from the Flo ridas to Canada, as also on the north-western coasts, and in New California. These jays retire, in autumn, from the more northerly regions, and arrive in large flocks in Penn sylvania, where some of them pass the winter, whilst others advance more to the south. In the cold season, they approach houses, and are easily ensnared. •The nest is usually placed in covered situations, that are watered by sn all streams. The eggs, which are four or five, are elivaceous, spotted with blackish-grey. The blue crest of the female is less conspicuous than that of the male. These birds feed on worms, serpents, chesnuts, &c. and are par ticularly injurious to maize-fields.