steller's jay 59 



the base of the nest, as if the jay attempted to convey the idea that the 

 structure is only some rubbish caught by the branches. In fact, more 

 than once our attention has first been caught by noticing dead leaves in 

 what might be considered an out-of-the-way place, and on a nearer ap- 

 proach the material was seen to be the commencement of a jay's nest. 



"As to the height of the nests, the lowest was only 8 feet from the 

 ground, the highest 40, and the average of all 20 to 25 feet. I have 

 always found Steller's jay to be quiet and secretive in the general local- 

 ity where it was breeding — one would not know that there was a jay 

 anywhere around ; but when its nest is disturbed the jay makes a great 

 outcry, and then silently leaves the place." 



He gives the dimensions of one nest as follows: Extreme outside 

 diameter, 14 inches ; outside height, 6 inches ; inside diameter, 5 inches ; 

 and inside depth, 2^4 inches. 



Eggs. — Steller's jay lays three to five eggs, usually four. These are 

 ovate and only slightly glossy. The ground color is pale greenish 

 blue, or pale bluish green, "pale turquoise green" to "pale Nile blue" 

 or paler, or "pale sulphate green" to "microcline green" or paler, some- 

 times almost greenish white. Some eggs are more or less sparingly 

 marked with fine dots ; others are more or less irregularly spotted with 

 small spots, fine dots and markings of indefinite shape. The markings 

 are in different shades of dark browns or purplish brown, or shades 

 of olive, more or less evenly distributed. 



The measurements of 40 eggs average 31.4 by 22.5 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 34.5 by 22.8, 33.5 by 24.0, 

 27.8 by 22.3, and 30.4 by 20.6 millimeters. 



Plumages. — Ridgway (1904) describes the juvenal plumage as fol- 

 lows : "Wings and tail as in adults, but the blue usually more greenish 

 (china blue to cerulean blue) and usually (?) without distinct black 

 bars on secondaries or rectrices ; under parts, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts dull slate-grayish, the former becoming darker and more sooty 

 anteriorly ; head and neck plain sooty or dark sooty slate, the forehead 

 without any blue streaks." 



Young birds begin the postjuvenal molt late in July or early in 

 August ; this molt, which involves everything but the wings and tail, 

 is usually completed during August, but it sometimes continues until 

 after the middle of September. In this first winter plumage young 

 birds are practically indistinguishable from the adult female, having 

 the black barring on the secondaries and rectrices less distinct than in 

 the adult male, or sometimes entirely wanting. 



The complete postnuptial molt of adults begins in July and is often 

 completed before the middle of August ; I have records of adults in 



