(_Cyanocitta stelleri._)
The jay is a jovial bird--Heigh-ho!
He chatters all day
In a frolicsome way
With the murmuring breezes that blow--Heigh-ho!
Hear him noisily call
From the redwood tree tall
To his mate in the opposite tree--Heigh-ho!
Saying, "How do you do?"
As his topknot of blue
Is raised as polite as can be--Heigh-ho!
Oh, impudent jay,
With your plumage so gay,
And your manners so jaunty and free--Heigh-ho!
How little you guessed,
When you robbed the wren's nest,
That any stray fellow would see--Heigh-ho!
This is an abundant and interesting cousin of the bluejay and is found
along the Pacific coast from northern California northward. It is a
very common resident of Oregon, is noisy, bold, and dashing. The nest
of this bird is built in firs and other trees and in bushes, ten to
twenty feet from the ground. It is bulky and made of large sticks and
twigs, generally put together with mud, and lined with fine, dry
grasses and hair. The eggs are three to five, pale green or bluish
green, speckled with olive-brown, with an average size of 1.28×.85.
There seems no doubt that many jays have been observed robbing nests of
other birds, but thousands have been seen that were not so engaged. It
has been shown that animal matter comprises only about twenty-five per
cent. of the bird's diet.
[Illustration: STELLER'S JAY.
1/2 Life-size.
FROM COL. F. KAEMPFER.
A. W. MUMFORD, PUBLISHER, CHICAGO.
COPYRIGHT 1900, BY
NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.]