THE BLUE JAY
_Crow Family--Corvidæ_
Length: About 11½ inches; 1½ inch longer than the robin; tail, over 5
inches long.
General Appearance: A _crested_ grayish-blue bird, with _bright blue
wings and tail_, barred and tipped with black and white. In flight,
the long tail is conspicuous; it resembles a pointed fan.
Male and Female: Grayish-blue above, grayish-white below, lighter on
throat and belly. Head with a conspicuous crest; forehead black;
bill long, strong, and black. A black band that extends back of the
crest and encircles the throat is widest across the breast. Wings
bright blue, barred with black; the white tips of some of the
feathers form bands and patches of white.
Note: A harsh _yah, yah, yah_, or _jay, jay, jay_, which Thoreau says is
"a true winter sound, wholly without sentiment."[3]
Song: A pleasant, flute-like strain: _Pedunkle, pedunkle, parlez-vous_.
There is a sort of jerkiness about his love-song, as though his
throat was unaccustomed to make agreeable sounds. Jays are able to
produce many strange noises, and appear to enjoy using their power.
Habitat: Woodlands; those containing oaks and other nut-bearing trees
preferred.
Nest: A rough basket of twigs, with a soft lining of root-fibers.
Range: Eastern North America. A permanent resident of south-central
Canada and eastern United States, west to the Dakotas, Colorado, and
central Texas.
[Illustration: BLUE JAY]
This brilliant, handsome blue-coat never "hides his light under a
bushel"; his noisy _jay-jay_ always proclaims his presence. He would at
times be unendurable, except that he never remains long in one place; he
is on the leap constantly, with a dash and an impudent assurance that is
amusing.
He is the "bad boy" of the bird neighborhood, the terror of the small
birds. They seem to have the same fear of him that children have of a
great bully. He swoops down upon them, worries and frightens them, robs
their nests, and brings to his own spoiled fledglings eggs and young as
tidbits.
He is a devoted husband and father, who shows his best traits in his
family circle. He reminds one of certain human beings who take excellent
care of their own, but who are neither good neighbors nor desirable
citizens. Occasionally, however, he has family differences. My sister
tells of watching a jay bring twig after twig for nest-building to his
mate, who was evidently in a bad mood. She would have none of them; she
seized each twig and threw it away with a disagreeable _yah, yah_. After
repeated attempts, he gave it up and both flew away. My sister never
learned what occurred later.
The jay is an inveterate tease. He delights in annoying poor half-blind
owls in the day-time, by pecking at them from unexpected quarters. An
owl has been known to seize the Tormentor and speedily put an end to his
existence.
The blue jay is a member of the same family to which the crow belongs,
and while totally different in appearance, resembles him in his
cleverness, his fearlessness, and his audacious insolence. Dr. Henshaw,
formerly of the Biological Survey in Washington, brings the following
accusation against this bird:
"The blue jay is of a dual nature. Cautious and silent in the vicinity
of its nest, away from it, it is bold and noisy. Sly in the commission
of mischief, it is ever ready to scream 'thief' at the slightest
disturbance. As usual in such cases, its remarks are applicable to none
more than itself, a fact neighboring nest-holders know to their sorrow,
for during the breeding season the jay lays heavy toll upon the eggs and
young of other birds, and in doing so deprives us of the services of
species more beneficial than itself."[4]
Mr. E. R. Kalmbach, also of the Biological Survey, says that in winter
jays eat the eggs of the tent caterpillar, and the larvæ of the
brown-tail moth, besides waste grain, and "mast,"--the name given to
vegetable food such as acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, etc. It
likes pecans and cultivated fruit in their season--two other points
against the bird. The wild fruits it selects are of no economic value.
Mr. Kalmbach concludes: "The blue jay probably renders its best service
to man in destroying grasshoppers late in the season and in feeding on
hibernating insects and their eggs, as they do in the case of the tent
caterpillar and brown-tail moth. Beetles and weevils of various kinds
also fall as their prey. The severest criticism against the species is
the destruction of other birds and their eggs. Where we wish to attract
the latter in large numbers about our dooryards, in our parks, and in
game preserves, it will be well not to allow the jay to become too
abundant."[5]
Wilson Flagg says: "The blue jay is a true American. He is known
throughout the continent and never visits any other country. At no
season is he absent from our woods.
"He has a beautiful outward appearance, under which he conceals an
unamiable temper and a propensity to mischief. There is no bird in our
forest that is arrayed in equal splendor. But with all his beauty, he
has, like the peacock, a harsh voice. He is a sort of Ishmael among the
feathered tribes, who are startled at the sound of his voice and fear
him as a bandit. There is no music in his nature; he is fit only for
'stratagems and spoils.'
"He is an industrious consumer of the larger insects and grubs, atoning
in this way for some of his evil deeds. I cannot say, therefore, that I
would consent to his banishment, for he is one of the most cheering
tenants of the grove at a season when they have but few inhabitants."[6]