150 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



with the umber-brown of the back ; his rump and belly 

 are pale blue, and his wings and tail are rich indigo- 

 blue, somewhat iridescent and widely barred with black. 

 Thus it will be seen that he has quite a different cos- 

 tume from that of our eastern jay, with his gaudy trim- 

 mings of white and black and purplish blue. The 

 westerner cannot boast of aistata's dressy black collar, 

 but otherwise he is more richly attired, although he 

 may not be quite so showy. 



The long-crested jays have a wide range among the 

 mountains, breeding from the base of the foothills to 

 the timber-line, although their nests are not commonly 

 found below an altitude of seven thousand feet. In 

 many places from nine to eleven thousand feet up the 

 acclivities of the mountains they were seen flitting 

 among the pines or the quaking asps. Like their east- 

 ern relatives, some individuals seem to prefer the society 

 of man, dwelling in the villages or in the vicinity of 

 country homes, \\'hile others choose the most secluded 

 and solitary localities for their habitat. The fact is, I 

 rarely made an excursion anywhere without sooner or 

 later discovering that these jays had pre-empted the 

 place for feeding or breeding purposes, sometimes with 

 loud objurgations bidding me be gone, and at other 

 times making no to-do whatever over my intrusion. 

 Perhaps the proximity or remoteness of their nests was 

 the chief cause of this variableness in their behavior. 



