18 Wyoming Experiment Station. 



mony as possible with reference to their food habits at least, 

 and let the reader judge for himself as to what would be the 

 proper treatment for these birds. Taking the family as a 

 whole that which is made up of birds like the Crows, Ravens, 

 Magpies, Jays, Nut-crackers, 'Camp-robbers,' etc., though 

 some of them have unenviable names and reputations at least, 

 are not really as bad as we are sometimes requested to believe 

 them to be. 



"The Crows, Ravens, Magpies and immediate relatives 

 are what might be termed 'omnivorous' in food-habits, eating 

 everything that comes their way. Crows, however, have been 

 shown to feed largely on insects, which in great measure at 

 least, offsets the harm done in other directions. They also 

 feed on various substances, tbe removal of which is for the 

 general good. 



"The Raven is too rare a bird in this state to be taken into 

 consideration in respect to food-habits, and the Magpie cer- 

 tainly can be put out of tbe question of doing any possible 

 harm for the same reason. This leaves then to be considered, 

 the Jays, of which we seem to have six or seven distinct kinds; 

 but only two of these are at all common. The Blue Jay is 

 found over the entire state and is familiar to everybody. The 

 second species is found only in the western and northwestern 

 portions among the pine forests, and is known as the Pinon Jay 

 or 'Camp-robber,' the latter name not very flattering to the bird 

 I must confess. 



"The Blue Jay does much of the mischief that is laid at 

 the door of the Robin, Orioles, Thrushes and other birds, and 

 then sneaks away unobserved. He also destroys large num- 

 bers of insects and robs the nest of small birds. 



"In the Bobolink, Meadowlark, Orioles and Blackbirds 

 we have some of the most important insect destroyers among 

 the feathered tribes. The Bobolink is with us during the sum- 

 mer months when it is entirely insectivorous, and the same 

 can be said of the Cowbird, although the latter has the bad 

 habit of compelling other birds to rear its young. 



