XANTUS'S JAY 105 



William Brewster (1902) writes: "This, the only Jay known to inhabit 

 the Cape Region, is very common and generally distributed there, being 

 found almost everywhere from the sea-coast to the tops of the highest 

 mountains. About La Paz it nests in March, but the birds seen by Mr. 

 Frazar on the Sierra de la Laguna in May and early June were in flocks 

 and showed no signs of having bred that season or of being about to 

 breed. They probably leave the mountains before the beginning of 

 winter and seek more sheltered haunts in the valleys and foothills at 

 lower elevations, for Mr. Frazar did not find a single individual on the 

 Sierra de la Laguna during his second visit, in the latter part of 

 November, 1887." 



Griffing Bancroft (1930) says of its haunts: "The habitat of these 

 jays is arboreal associations other than those of the oases. The level 

 country adjoining San Lucas Lagoon in places is heavily overgrown 

 with mesquite and palo verde. The small caiions in the mountains sup- 

 port scattered trees. The large valleys are frequently dotted with them, 

 especially where moisture is not too far beneath the surface. The ripa- 

 rian associations are almost uniformly accompanied by the taller growths. 

 Within these limitations hypoleiica is common, for a jay." He also writes 

 to me that he found it "most abundant in the vast mangrove swamps of 

 Magdalena Bay, but did not observe it elsewhere in the mangroves." 



Nestifig. — Although eggs were collected by Xantus as early as 1860, 

 Walter E. Bryant (1889) was the first to describe a nest, as follows: 

 "A single nest of this new variety was found by myself a few miles 

 southward from San Ignacio on April 12, 1889. The nest was built 

 about three meters high in a green acacia near the trail. The female 

 was sitting, and did not fly until preparations for climbing the tree had 

 commenced. The nest was in quite an exposed situation amongst scant 

 twigs on a horizontal branch. It is composed of small loosely laid dry 

 twigs, and a shallow receptacle lined with fibre and horsehair." 



Mr. Bancroft (1930) says of the nesting "The breeding habits of the 

 Xantus Jay, however, are unlike those of the other races of its family, 

 partly through choice and partly from necessity. Nearly all the nests 

 we found were in the arrow tree whose dense growth of leaves afforded 

 a maximum of concealment. The nest is usually in the heart of the 

 foliage, six to ten feet above the ground. It consists of a foundation of 

 fine twigs which support a semispherical cup. The foundation may be 

 scanty or it may be quite pretentious, according to the requirements of 

 its location. The c.up is thin and neatly woven. It is composed of fine 

 rootlets, tree yucca fibres, or cow-hair. It may be of one material only 

 or the three may be used together. It is stiff enough to maintain its 

 shape ; the foundation merely serves to hold it in place." 



