The Owl has long been an inspiration to the poets, due to its odd appearance and uncanny actions during the daylight hours, the wise expression of its face, and its quiet flight during the weird hours of the night. "The lark is but a bumpkin fowl; He sleeps in his nest till morn; But my blessing upon the jolly owl That all night blows his horn." THE OWL. When cats run home and light is come, And dew is cold upon the ground, And the far-off stream is dumb, And the whirring sail goes round, And the whirring sail goes round; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. When merry milkmaids click the latch, And rarely smells the new-mown hay, And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch Twice or thrice his roundelay, Twice or thrice his roundelay; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. --Alfred Tennyson. [Illustration: LONG-CRESTED JAY. (Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha.) Nearly Life-size. FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES. COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO.] THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. (_Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha._) The family (Corvidae) of birds to which the long-crested jay belongs includes not only the jays but also the crows, the ravens, the magpies and the rooks. It is a cosmopolitan family with the exception that no representatives are found in New Zealand. It includes over two hundred species of which about twenty-five are inhabitants of North America. Strictly speaking, none of the species are migratory, excepting those whose range carries them to regions of severe winters. Some of the species are well protected by soft and thick coats of down and feathers, and as they are generous in their selection of food, eating varieties that may be procured at any season, they do not need to move from place to place but may remain resident throughout the year. The jays differ from the crows in their method of progression on the ground, hopping instead of walking. They are distinctly arboreal in their habits, and usually have a bright-colored plumage, blue being the most common. Their heads are often crested. Though found nearly throughout the world their highest development seems to have been reached by those species that are resident in the warmer portions of America. The jays are noisy and quarrelsome, fretting apparently for the most insignificant reasons. They are great mimics and exhibit a high degree of intelligence. The jay possesses a variety of notes and calls, and is a notable borrower of those of some other species of birds. This versatility has given rise to the very appropriate name of the sub-family in which they are included, the Garrulinae, from the Latin word garrio, meaning to prattle.