The jay is a very common bird in Great Britain, and is found in various parts of Europe. It is distinguished as well for the beautiful arrangement of its colours, as for its harsh grating voice, and restless disposition. Upon seeing the sportsman, it gives by its cries the alarm of danger, and thereby defeats his aim and disappoints him. The jay builds in woods, and makes an artless nest, composed of sticks, fibres, and tender twigs; the female lays five or six eggs, of a greyish ash colour, mixed with green, and faintly spotted with brown. Mr. Pennant observes, that the young ones continue with their parents till the following spring, when they separate to form new pairs. Birds of this species live on acorns, nuts, seeds, and various kinds of fruits; they will eat eggs, and sometimes destroy young birds in the absence of the old ones. When kept in a domestic state they may be rendered very familiar, and will imitate a variety of words and sounds. We have heard one imitate the sound made by the action of a saw so exactly, that though it was on a Sunday, we could hardly be persuaded that the person who kept it, had not a carpenter at work in the house. Another, at the approach of cattle, had learned to hound a cur dog upon them, by whistling and calling upon him by his name: at last, during a severe frost, the dog was, by that means, excited to attack a cow big with calf, when the poor animal fell on the ice, and was much hurt: the jay was complained of as a nuisance, and its owner was obliged to destroy it.—Bewick.
Ichthyology, s. The doctrine of the nature of fish.
Jennet, s. A Spanish horse.
Jerk, s. A smart quick lash; a sudden spring; a quick jolt that shocks or starts.
Jesses, s. Slips of light leather, seven or eight inches long, and a quarter of an inch wide, made fast to each of the hawk’s legs. These are to be secured to a small swivel, fixed to the end of a thong of leather, three or four feet long, called a leash, so as easily to be detached from the swivel when the hawk is required to fly. The jesses are seldom removed from the bird’s legs when once they have been put on.
Jet, s. A very beautiful fossil of a fine deep black colour; a spout or shoot of water.
Jetty, a. Made of jet; black as jet.
Ignite, v. To kindle, to set on fire.
Ignitible, a. Inflammable, capable of being set on fire.
Ignition, s. The act of kindling, or of setting on fire.