FLORIDA JAY 81 



the Dry Tortugas. It is quite possible to handle the bird freely, and 

 in certain cases there is not even an attempt made to peck at the in- 

 truder. Neighboring birds occasionally show more concern than the 

 sitting individual ! 



Well illustrative of this trait are some interesting notes sent to me by 

 Hugo H. Schroder (MS.), who says that on "April 25, 1932, I found 

 a female on nest in sc.rub oak and vines about 5 feet up, in Orange 

 County, northwest of Orlando. She remained while vines were opened 

 so nest and occupants could be photographed, and she allowed herself 

 to be picked up and placed in a different position whenever we desired 

 her to be in a better pose; she uttered no protest and made no attempt 

 to bite when picked up. Even when she hopped from the nest she 

 allowed us to replace her, when she remained. The male came to scold 

 while we were handling his mate, and once he came within a foot of 

 my head. A number of neighboring jays added their voices of protest 

 and one of these allowed me to reach within a foot of his body without 

 moving away. 



"May 3. Same nest, two young nearly ready to leave. Female allowed 

 herself to be handled but did make a weak attempt to peck at my finger. 

 One of the youngsters wanted to leave the nest, and I held him down 

 while a photo was made ; the female was perched on the other side of 

 the nest at the time, her feathers pufifed out a little but otherwise giving 

 no sign of resenting the effort to restrain her youngster. Several times 

 when I picked her up she uttered a very soft, low-pitched sort of song." 



The Florida jay sometimes shows a decided preference for the nest 

 even after the young have left. Both adults and young return to it for 

 varying periods, and observations on this trait should be more extensive. 

 An interesting instance is furnished by Wilbur F. Smith (MS.), who 

 has had 9 years of experience with this jay near Englewood, Fla., on 

 the lower west coast. He says: "My most thrilling experience with it 

 was about four years ago when a pair built their nest in a hedge of 

 Cherokee roses in a friend's yard. The nest was placed well in the 

 middle of the hedge where light conditions prevented a picture. Three 

 young birds hatched, and when they were about grown I took a friend 

 to see them. We found the nest empty and no birds in sight, though 

 the young had been in the nest the day before. The old birds had been 

 fed all winter and were very tame. The owner of the place had left 

 for his Kansas home, and no doubt the jays missed the daily supply of 

 food, so it was not so surprising that one of them appeared on a wire 

 above us, looked down expectantly, and dropped to proffered food in 

 an outstretched hand. Then the other bird (adult) appeared, and on 

 looking again at the nest we found that two of the young had climbed 



