Woodhouse-Jay. 287 



During the winter it is very common along the foothills and perhaps 

 up to 10,000 feet ; during the summer the bulk of the birds go up into 

 the mountains, breeding chiefly between 7,000 and 9,000 feet, more 

 rarely to timber line. 



Habits. — ^This Jay is one of the handsomest and most 

 conspicuous birds in Colorado : the bright sun glancing 

 on his blue wings and tail and his constantly moving 

 crest, together with his harsh, querulous and scolding 

 note, easily attract attention. Seldom found far away 

 from the pine forest, his food consists largely of seeds 

 of conifers, though he will often be found near human 

 habitations in order to pick up any stray scraps, 

 especially in winter. Like most of the family, the Jay 

 is intelligent and crafty ; he has been seen storing heads 

 of grain in trees for future use, and is known to persecute 

 smaller birds, and to steal and suck their eggs. 



The Long -crested Jay breeds rather early ; eggs are 

 generally laid in May at lower levels ; Dennis Gale 

 found four fresh eggs as early as April 23rd, at Gold Hill, 

 near Boulder. The nest though bulky is difficult to 

 find ; it is made largely ol small twigs plastered with 

 mud, and lined with fine rootlets, and is not as a rule 

 placed very high up, generally in a bushy pine. The eggs, 

 three to six in number, are pale blue spotted and blotched 

 with brown ; they measure r22 x '88. 



Genus APHELOCOMA. 



Bill rather slender, nasal plumes not well developed, barely 

 concealing the nostrils ; no crest ; wings longer or shorter than 

 the tail (shorter in the Colorado species) ; tail slightly rounded ; 

 prevailing colour blue. 



This genus is found through the western half of the United States 

 southwards to Guatemala ; also in Florida. Out of nine species and 

 nineteen subspecies, only one is met with in Colorado. 



Woodhouse-Jay. Aphelocoma woodhousei. 

 A.O.U. Checklist no 480 — Colorado Records — Allen 72, p. 150 ; Aiken 

 72, p. 205 ; Henshaw 75, p. 337 ; Drew 81, p. 140 ; Allen & Brewster 



