. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. •J82 HABITS OF THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY, buffet the unfortunate hawk with such relentless perseverance that they fairly drive him out of the neighborhood ; but sometimes the tables are reversed, and the hawk, turning suddenly on his persecutors, snaps up the foremost and boldest, and silently sails away into the thickest covert, bearing his screaming prey in his talons. As the Blue Jay is very fond of fruit and seeds, it often does great harm to the agricult- urist, robbing his fruit-trees
. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. •J82 HABITS OF THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY, buffet the unfortunate hawk with such relentless perseverance that they fairly drive him out of the neighborhood ; but sometimes the tables are reversed, and the hawk, turning suddenly on his persecutors, snaps up the foremost and boldest, and silently sails away into the thickest covert, bearing his screaming prey in his talons. As the Blue Jay is very fond of fruit and seeds, it often does great harm to the agricult- urist, robbing his fruit-trees in a very complete and systematic manner, and doing no small amount of harm to the crops. Yet the bird is not -without its use, for in replenishing its winter stores, which consist of nuts, mast, chestnuts, and similar provisions, the Jay drops many of them in its passage, and thus unconsciously succeeds in planting many a useful tree. One careful observer of this bird and its habits says that in a few years' time the Jays alone would replant all the cleared lands. The diet of the Jay is, how- ever, by no means restricted to vegetable substances, as the bu'd lives more upon animal than on vegetable food. In the spring and early summer, yoimg birds form a large por- tion of its sustenance, and it robs many a nest of its eggs, or even when pressed by hunger makes an attack on the parent bird. In captivity vdth its Euro- pean relative, the Blue Jay is equally miscliievous, being at- tracted by anything that glit- ters or that he thinks is valued by its owner, and hiding it in some of his especial treasure- houses. He will also learn to talk, and becomes very proud of his accomplishment, dis- playing his newly - acquired talents to every one who will listen, and being extremely loquacious when excited by the presence of several persons at the same time. If kindly treated, the Blue Jay becomes very affectionate to its owner, and can even be taught to live in loving commimion with
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
