218 CYANURUS STELLERI VAK. MACROLOPHUS. 



pine cone, which he would sometimes wedge in a crotch, and sometimes 

 lioid under his I'eet. Though most at home in the pineries, where this 

 particiihir source of sui)pl.v is unfailing, he often strays into the adjoining 

 oak openings, and into juniper pat(;hes, alter acorns or berries, or to 

 pick a (puirrel with Woodhouse's Jay and frighten the Sparrows. 

 Wherever he goes lie has it pretty much his own way, hated and feared 

 by the other birds, whom he silences with a scream and subdues by a 

 show of authority. But who of his kind has not enemies? Cassin's 

 Flycatcher, almost as noisy and audacious, has many a set-to with liim, 

 and even the nimble little Wood Pewees jsester him sometimes, Tiie 

 Woodpeckers tease him persistently ; they can scramble about faster 

 thau he can follow, and laugh at liim from the otiier side of a bough, 

 lill he quite loses his temper. But after all our Jay has his good points, 

 and 1 confess to a sneaking sort of regard tor him. An elegant, 

 dashing fellow, of good presence if not good manners; a tough, wiry, 

 independent creature, with sense enough to take precious good care of 

 himself, as any one who wants his skin will discover. As one approaches 

 the tall pine where he is rollicking, his restless, bright browni eye marks 

 the suspicious object. Now on the alert, he leaps like a squirrel from 

 bough to bough, till he reaches the toj), when he is oif with a scream 

 that makes the woods «'cho ht« triumj)h and disdain. It is of no use to 

 follow when he is thoroughly alarmed. But on some other occasion he 

 may be inclined to take another i)eep, tor his curiosity is great, and thus 

 expose himself through a rift in the foliage. This moment is the chance ; 

 and with the rei)ort of the gun comes his shriek of agony as he tumbles 

 all bloody from the bough he just mounted in pride and strength. 



The foregoing account may be supplemented by Mr, Trippe's observa- 

 tions in Colorado, where he found the species "abundant and resident, 

 ranging up to timber-line and down to the plains, breeding, i)r()bably, 

 throughout — certainly from 7,00(J feet up to timber-line. The Long- 

 crested Jay scarcely changes its habitat the year round, those living 

 highest up descending a little in the severest weather, but even in mid- 

 winter it is comn>on at elevations of 10,000 feet and ovor. This species 

 is known as the Blue Jay throughout the mountains, and is one of the 

 most abundant and conspicuous of all the biids. From its noisy famil- 

 iarity, its si)lendid plumage, and its universal presence in every locality, 

 it is quite sure to attract the attention of the tourist and stranger. It 

 has all the j)ertness, garrulity and vivacity, of the Eastern Blue Jay ; 

 and never being molested it becomes very tame, alighting close to the 

 door of the miner's cabin to pick up whatever crumbs and bits of food 

 it may happen to find, and evincing the same familiarity that C. crlatnta 

 displays in Iowa and liansas. Its notes are harsh and jay like — at times 

 guttural and rasping. Its favorite haunts are the valleys, and hillsides 

 thinly scattered with pines; yet it also fiecpients the densest pine forests-, 

 • and adapts itself to all localities. Its nest 1 could not find, nor even dis- 

 cover at what time of the year it breeds. It occasionally robs the nests 

 of other birds, like the Eastern Blue Jay. In December I found this 

 bird quite common in the valley of the Arkansas iliver, near old Fort 

 Lyon and the mouth of Saml Creek." 



The i^<^g; of Steller's Jay is pale, dull bluish-green, more or less thickly, 

 but usually quite uniformly, sprinkled all over with small olive-browu 

 and clearer brown spots. Size, 1.25 by 0.85, to 1.35 by 0.00. 



