steller's jay 61 



for in the thicket and only a few yards away I found a robin's nest with 

 eggs, and the nest of a thrush with young birds. Perhaps the jays 

 wanted to stand well with their neighbors and live in peace. I am sure 

 if the robins had thought the jays were up to mischief, they would have 

 hustled them out of the thicket. I think we give both the crow and the 

 jay more blame for nest robbing than they deserve." 

 Alfred M. Bailey (1927) writes: 



They are robbers of the first order, and steal anything edible about camp. I do 

 not know whether we are able to give birds credit for a sense of humor, but 

 if we do, then the Jays surely must come in for first place. I have watched a 

 pair of these fellows tease a spaniel. They would alight in a path, only to be 

 chased away by the dog, and they kept returning so often as to completely 

 exhaust him; then, when the dog refused to chase them longer, they would 

 alight over his head and talk to him, — undoubtedly they were cursing him, until 

 he finally got up and walked away. The same performance was carried on daily. 

 This species is not particularly in favor among hunters, for when one is quietly 

 crossing a muskeg in the hope of jumping a deer, it is the usual thing to have 

 a couple of Jays open a serenade, and then keep just ahead of the hunter, talking 

 all the time. 



Voice. — Dawson and Bowles (1909) give the best description of the 

 varied notes of this jay, as follows: "The notes of the Steller Jay are 

 harsh and expletive to a degree. Shaack, shaack, shaack is a common 

 (and most exasperating) form; or, by a little stretch of the imagination 

 one may hear jay, jay, jay. A mellow klook, klook, klook sometimes 

 varies the rasping imprecations and serves to remind one that the Jay 

 is cousin to the Crow. Other and minor notes there are for the lesser 

 and rarer emotions, and some of these are not unmusical." 



Leslie L. Haskin writes to me that, like so many other jays, it has a 

 scream like that of the red-tailed hawk, which may be a true jay note 

 rather than an imitation of the hawk. He says further: ''Steller's jay 

 also has a true song of his own. I have heard it only a few times, but 

 it is very sweet in tone. In many ways it resembles the 'whisper songs' 

 that many birds indulge in in winter. Because of the extreme shyness 

 of these birds, and the softness of the song, it is very hard to hear. 

 Only when the bird is entirely unaware of observation will it be given. 

 I would compare it with the 'whisper song' of the American robin, as 

 I have heard that bird on cold winter days singing in red cedar tangles 

 in the East. In it are also some tones that suggest the song of the 

 ruby-crowned kinglet, but not so loud. Heard without seeing the per- 

 former, it could easily be mistaken for the kinglet. Altogether it is a 

 very interesting and surprising performance." 



Theed Pearse writes to me that he has heard it mimicking the crow's 

 spring falsetto song, as well as the cry of the red-tailed hawk; and has 



