A flash of blue accents the soft neutral tones of a landscape of fresh snow. The Blue Jay pauses on a snow covered branch. Now where did he hide all those thousands of acorns for his winter meals? Some he will never see again because they have been pilfered by squirrels. Others will never be retrieved, eventually sprouting into new trees. In fact, the Blue Jay is probably responsible for the extraordinarily quick spread of oaks back north after the Ice Age. This handsome bird's raucous call alarms the whole forest to the approach of an intruder. - SL