Home › R › Range (Eastern North America breeds) (XII)

Range (Eastern North America breeds) (XII)

Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to Newfoundland; generally resident throughout its range.

Washington, rather rare P. R., common T. V., Apl. 28 to May 15; Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Sing Sing, tolerably common P. R. Cambridge, common P. R., abundant T. V., Apl. and May; Sept. and Oct.

Nest, of rootlets, compactly interwoven, generally in a tree crotch fifteen to twenty feet up. Eggs, four to six, pale olive-green or brownish ashy, rather thickly marked with distinct or obscure spots of varying shades of cinnamonbrown, 1.10 x 85. The Blue Jay, I fear, is a reprobate, but, notwithstanding his fondness for eggs and nestlings, and his evident joy in worrying other birds, there is a dashing, reckless air about him which makes us pardon his faults and like him in spite of ourselves. Like many men, he needs the inspiration of congenial company to bring out the social side of his disposition. Household duties may perhaps absorb him, but certain it is that when at home he is very different from the noisy fellow who, with equally noisy comrades, roams the woods in the fall.

How his jay, jay rings out on the frosty morning air! It is a sig- CROWS, JAYS, ETC. nal to his companions, breakfasting in a near-by oak or chestnut, "Here, here, here's some fun!" and the poor, blinking Owl he has discovered looks helplessly at the blue-coated mob, whose uproar alone is terrifying. Suddenly there is absolute silence; every Jay has disappeared. Some one of them has seen you, and not until your silence reassures the band will they return to the sport of teasing their victim. The Blue Jay is both a mimic and a ventriloquist. Besides an inexhaustible stock of whistles and calls of his own, he imitates the notes of other species, notably those of the Red-shouldered, Red-tail, and Sparrow Hawks. 477a. C. c. florincola Coues. FLORIDA BLUE JAY.-Similar to the preceding species, but smaller, the upper parts somewhat grayer, the white tips to the feathers narrower, those on the outer pair of tail-feathers generally less than 1.00 in width. L., 10-75; W., 5-15; T., 4·80; Β., 96.