54 BULLETIN 19 i, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



monly oak, orange, or pine — at a height of 8 to 35 feet above the 

 ground"; and he quotes D. J. Nicholson as saying that two or three 

 broods are raised in a season, beginning late in March and ending in 

 August. There is a set of eggs in my collection, taken in Leon County, 

 Fla., from a nest in a magnolia tree; it was made of materials similar 

 to those mentioned above, including the mud. 



In Texas, according to George F. Simmons (1925), the nests are 

 placed in various oaks, hackberry, pecan, cedar elm, and cedar trees. 

 Wayne (1910) says that in South Carolina it seems partial to live oaks. 



Eggs. — The eggs of the southern blue jay are indistinguishable from 

 those of its northern relative and probably would show in a large series 

 all the wide range of variation in shape, color, and pattern exhibited in 

 eggs of the northern blue jay. According to Mr. Nicholson (Howell, 

 1932), "the first sets nearly always comprised 4 eggs, the second sets 

 either 3 or 4, the third sets nearly always 3." The measurements of 

 40 eggs average 27.1 by 20.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four 

 extremes measure 29.6 by 20.7, 27.4 by 21.3, and 23.2 by 18.4 milli- 

 meters. 



Pood. — The feeding habits of the southern blue jay are similar to those 

 of the northern bird; it lives on such varieties of nuts, wild and culti- 

 vated fruits, grains, insects and their larvae, and other small forms of 

 animal life as it c.an find within its range. It is said to do some damage 

 to small cultivated fruits and to rob birds' nests of their eggs and young. 



Dr. Walter P. Taylor tells me that in Walker County, Tex., these 

 jays are useful in providing food for bobwhite quail, by dropping pieces 

 of acorns that they have broken up. 



Behavior. — Wherever I have been in Florida I have been impressed 

 with the fact that the local blue jays are among the commonest and most 

 familiar birds. They are not at all shy and seem to enjoy living in the 

 tovv'ns and villages, in the gardens and trees close to houses, in the 

 shade trees along the streets, and in the citrus groves, as well as in the 

 open country. Mr. Howell (1932) says that they "are found less 

 commonly in pine woods, hammocks of oak or mixed timber, turkey-oak 

 scrub, and the borders of small cypress swamps. The birds are noisy 

 and restless during the greater part of the year, moving about in small 

 companies or loose flocks, calling vigorously as they go. While for the 

 most part indififerent to the presence of man, they nevertheless retain 

 a degree of caution and can scarcely be tamed enough to eat from one's 

 hand, as can the Florida Jays. They take great delight in worrying 

 owls whose retreats they may discover, and their reputation for robbing 

 the nests of smaller birds is rather bad." 



M. G. Vaiden writes to me from Rosedale, Miss. : "The blue jay is 



