296 Birds of Colorado 



Description. — Adult — Head all round, back and under-parts smoky- 

 grey, becoming a dirty yellowish -white on the nasal tufts and forehead ; 

 upper taU-coverts, two middle rectrices and the wings black, with a 

 metallic purplish gloss ; secondaries broadly tipped with white ; under 

 tail-coverts and four pairs of outer rectrices white, fifth pair black and 

 white ; iris brown, bill and legs black. Length 12-0 ; wing 7-80 ; tail 

 4-90; culmen 1-5; tarsus 1-3. 



The female is slightly smaller — wing about 7-30. In summer the 

 grey is rather paler and of a browner tinge ; the young birds closely 

 resemble the summer adults, but the black of the wings and tail has 

 less gloss. 



Distribution. — A resident in the coniferous forest regions of western 

 North America, from Alaska to Lower California and New Mexico. 

 In Colorado the Nutcracker is found commonly through the moun- 

 tainous western half of the State, at elevations of 7,000 to 12,000 feet, 

 chiefly at 9,000 to 10,000 in summer and 7,000 to 9,000 feet in winter. 

 It is a great wanderer, and has not infrequently been met with on the 

 plains in winter (Burlington, January — Hoskins apud Cooke), and 

 localities in western Kansas and Nebraska. On the other hand it 

 wanders above timber line as high as 13,000 feet, especially in summer 

 and early fall. 



Habits. — Clarke's Nutcracker resembles in many ways 

 the Rocky Mountain Jay in its habits, and shares with 

 it the opprobrious name of Camp Robber. It is naturally 

 shy and suspicious, but when not molested soon becomes 

 tame, and frequents mountain camps and miners' cabins 

 for scraps and ofFal. In the fall they are generally met 

 with in large flocks, which pursue their way noisily 

 and busily through a grove of pinon or yellow pines, in 

 search of the seeds which they extract with considerable 

 skill from the cones, often hanging down below a branch 

 for this purpose like a Chickadee. They have a Wood- 

 pecker-like habit of sitting on a dead branch and 

 hammering with their beaks ; this is not to obtain 

 insects, but to crack the pine nuts for their kernels ; 

 they also somewhat resemble Woodpeckers in their 

 undulating flight. 



The Nutcracker breeds early, in fact long before the 

 snow has disappeared. Dennis Gale obtained the 



