A Jay, kept by a person in the north of England, had learned at the approach of cattle to set a cur dog upon them, by whistling and calling him by his name. One winter, during a severe frost, the dog was by this means excited to attack a cow that was big with calf, when the poor thing fell on the ice, and was much hurt. The Jay was complained of as a nuisance, and its owner was obliged to destroy it.
The hen lays five or six eggs, of a dull white colour, mottled with brown.
THE ROLLER, (Coracias garrula,)
Is about the size of the jay. Its bill is black, sharp, and somewhat hooked. The head is of a dirty green, mingled with blue; of which colour is also the throat, with white lines in the middle of each feather; the breast is of a pale blue, like that of the pigeon; the middle of the back, between the shoulders, is red; the rump and lesser coverts of the wings are dark blue; the feet are short, and, like those of a dove, of a dirty yellow colour.
The Roller is wilder than the jay, and frequents the thickest woods; it builds its nest chiefly on birch-trees. It is a bird of passage, and migrates in the months of May and September. In Africa, it is said to fly in large flocks in the autumn, and is frequently seen on cultivated grounds, with rooks and other birds, searching for worms, insects, seeds, berries, roots, and in cases of necessity, small frogs.