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Blue Jay
Adult--Upper parts bluish, somewhat tinged with purple; head crested; under parts grayish white; lighter on throat and belly; a black line across the breast, neck, and head; forehead black; wings and tail blue, barred with black. Length--11.74.
Breeding Range--Throughout the Eastern States.
The nest is placed in any sort of tree or bush, from four to thirty-five feet up. It is a rather bulky and ragged affair of twigs, roots, weeds, rags, and string. The nest shown in the accompanying photograph was made of twigs, rags, and a fair amount of mud. I do not, however, think that mud is often used in their construction. The eggs number from 3 to 6; they are greenish or yellowish drab, thickly spotted with greenish or reddish brown and dull lilac. Size--1.12 x .82. See Fig. 16, Plate D.
The many peculiarities of this bird render him most interesting; his voice and some of his habits are decidedly against him, while his appearance and cleverness are so greatly in his favour that the bad traits are or should be lost sight of. As a pet he has no equal, his tricks causing endless amusement, and his general character is good.
The young are very helpless at first, and are without down or feathers; when about nine days old their eyes open; they have pin-feathers and down, and to some extent they are able to use their feet. By the time they are about sixteen days old they are ready to leave the nest. The breeding season begins about the first week in May.
As they feed largely on acorns a grove of oak trees proves a great attraction to the blue jay population of any locality.