1NSESSORES. c o r v idæ :.
T H E JA Y.
Corvus glandarius, The Jay,
Garni lus ,,
r9
Cornus ,,
Garrulus ,,
Le Geai,
P en s. Brit. 2|o6l. vol. i. p. 29Î.
Mostar. Ornith .-DictT''
Bewice, Brit. BinIs,vol. i. p. 100.
Flem. Brit. AiK p. 86,..
Selby, Brit. Omith. vol. i. p.,362.
J enyns, Brit. Vert, p. 148.
iSbttLD, Birds of Europe, pt.ix. •
Temm. Man. d’Ornith. Vpl.-i.’jp!. 114»
,, Supplt. lstjPart, p. 65.
-Garrulus* ’Generic- Character,—-Beak shorter- than ■ the 'head,
slightly compressed, straight at the Jb'ase, commissure straight, tip oFThe upper
mandible distinctly notched, and rather suddenly bent over the lower. Nostrils
basal, lateral, hidden from view by incumbent bristles. Wings moderate,
rounded ; the first three quill-feathers graduated, the fourth, fifth, and sixth of
nearly equal length, and the longest in the wing* Tegs moderate, tarsus longer
than the middle toe, the outer foe joined at its base to the middle toe, and
longer than the inner; claws stout, curved, and sharp. Tail slightly rounded.
I n the family of the Grows generic distinction has been
successfully' claimed for the Jays by Brisson and others.
M. Temminck formerly included our Jay in his third section
of th e ' genus“ Corfu's, but in the Supplement to. the first
volume of his Manual, published in 1835, this distinguished
'Ornithologist, has admitted the genus Garrulus by name, as
.quoted in the list of authors at the head, of this article, and
it should^ot bSfo’rgotteri that our Jay was, called Garrulus
by Willughby* ,a§ long ago as 1678,> Many species of this
genus^afe now known, some of which inhabit North America,
hnd Mr.rObuld .has'lately figured several beautiful examples
in his Gentury of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains.
^ T h e Jayifil 9 handgOme bird yrell known in most of the
wooded 'dilt’|ict% of i®aglan4, more arboreal in its habits,
.appearing to prefer the shelter and security of thick covers,
not frequenting open grounds so commonly as the other birds
n f this family,' and has been called glandarius, because com
.sid'eredT mot-f | partial to feed on vegetable productions, such
as acorns and beech-mast, than the true Crows are observed
jto be,.
BesidesfOe'ding on insects and worms, the Jay, in summer^
frequents gardens, unable to resist the temptation of peas
and and. as he is believed also to be partial to eggs
and ybfe^*- birds, the Jay meets’ with ho favour from gardeners
or' gamekeepers, ’ and is accordingly shot or trapped and hung
up as an example upon all occasions,.
»[iThe'Jay seldom, builds, its nest higher than twenty feet
from the ground', preferring the upper part of a thick bush in
high wood, pr in a tall hedge-row, and occasionally one of
* Ornithology pf Francis Willugifby, Esq. F.R.S. London, 1678, p. 131.