NICASIO JAY 91 



yearly, for seven or eight years, in a clematis which climbs up the side 

 of our summer home. The nest has usually been placed within reach 

 of, as well as observation from, the window of a constantly occupied 

 bed room, a window opening out and frequently opened and closed daily." 



Eggs. — The eggs of the Nicasio jay are practically indistinguishable 

 from those of the California jay and show the same interesting variations. 

 The measurements of 40 eggs average 27.8 by 20.5 millimeters ; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measure 30.8 by 21.8, 29.0 by 22.4, 24.4 

 by 19.3, and 25.4 by 18.8 millimeters. 



Food. — The notes that Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, Calif., sent to 

 Major Bendire (1895) evidently refer to this race. He writes: 



No bird is more destructive of the smaller species building open, unconcealed 

 nests than this Jay. I have seen one alight on a limb near a nest, eat the eggs 

 that it contained, and, not satisfied with this, give the nest a down and inward 

 stroke with its bill, ripping it open. They are especially destructive to the nests 

 of the Black-chinned and Anna's Hummingbirds and the Ground Tit. They also 

 become altogether too familiar about the poultry houses, and will eat the eggs as 

 fast as the hens lay them. As soon as they hear a hen cackle after laying, three 

 or four of these birds go to the spot at once. Even the chicken house affords no 

 protection against these robbers, if they can find a way of entering it ; shooting 

 is equally ineffectual, for they are too numerous. They destroy vast quantities of 

 fruit in apple, peach, pear, and plum orchards, as well as many smaller fruits. 

 Shooting them by hundreds and hanging their carcasses in the fruit trees as 

 scarecrows is of no avail; they do not know enough to be frightened at anything. 

 I have tried to poison them, but never saw a dead one except when shot. They 

 also destroy a great deal of young wheat when first sown, until it is 2 or 3 inches 

 high. They pull it out of the ground and eat the soft, swelled grains ; after the 

 stalks begin to grow they will not molest it. 



One cannot help feeling that the above bitter invective is somewhat 

 overdrawn and perhaps a bit prejudiced. His statement that they "do 

 not know enough to be frightened" is offset by the fact that he was 

 never able to poison one ; the truth of the matter probably is that they 

 know too much to be frightened unnecessarily, and that they are crafty 

 enough to avoid real danger. His statement that they pull up sprouting 

 grain does not agree with Professor Beal's (1910) statement that "the 

 jay is not known to pull up grain after it has sprouted." 



But Professor Beal evidently overlooked Mr. Allen's statement, as 

 well as the following from Joseph Mailliard (1900) : "I have had acres 

 of peas * * * practically destroyed by these birds. * * * I remember 

 one spring when a patch of about an acre and a half was sown with 

 a mixture of peas and oats, and the peas were pulled up as fast as 

 sprouted, by the jays, so that the crop consisted of oats alone. * * * 

 Some years they destroy a lot of corn and other years almost none. 

 * * * This year the Jays, in conjunction with Towhees, Juncos and a 



