I have often, during my youth, seen this beautiful species of bird among the peasants of Thuringia confined in cages, and taught to speak. It is about the size of the preceding bird. Its black beak is in shape like that of the carrion crow. The feet are brown, with a slight shade of flesh colour. All the smaller feathers are soft and silky. A purple grey is the most predominant colour; the throat is whitish, the eyes are reddish blue, the rump white; the large coverts have the outer side of the feathers ornamented with small but very brilliant bands, alternately bluish white, light blue, and bluish black, which softly blend one into the other, like the colours in the rainbow, and are a great ornament to the bird. The only difference in the female is that the upper part of the neck is grey, whereas in the male it is much redder, and that colour also extends to the back. HABITATION.--When wild, the jay frequents woods; above all, those in which there are firs mixed with other trees. In the house it must be kept in a large cage in the form of a tower, or in any other shape; it is too dirty a bird to be let range at liberty. FOOD.--In its wild state it prefers worms, insects, and berries, when acorns and beech-mast fail: it makes great havoc among cherries. In the cage, it soon becomes accustomed to bread soaked in milk, but it will eat almost any thing, bread, soft cheese, baked meat, and all that comes from table; acorns and beech-mast however are its favourite food. It must be kept very clean, otherwise its soiled and dirty plumage would make it look to great disadvantage. It is better to feed it entirely on corn; it becomes by this means less dirty, and its excrements are not so soft or foetid. It may be preserved for several years on this food. It must always have fresh water given it, as much for drinking as for bathing. BREEDING.--The jay builds in beech-trees, oaks, and firs. Its eggs are grey spotted with brown. The young which are to be taught to speak must be taken from the nest after the fourteenth or fifteenth day, and fed on soft cheese, bread, and meat: it is easily taught and domesticated. Those which are caught when old cannot be tamed; they are always frightened when any one approaches them, hiding and fasting for several hours afterwards rather then reappear.