100 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



than those of the Steller Jay. Another note commonly uttered when the 

 bird is perched is a very harsh ker-wheek." James B. Dixon tells me 

 that "the male has a very pleasing ventriloquial song, which he sings 

 during the mating season and which can be heard only a very short 

 distance." 



Field marks. — A flat, crestless, blue head, a pale brown back, blue 

 wings and tail, and a white-streaked throat will serve to distinguish this 

 species from the much darker crested jays of the stelleri group. Its jay- 

 like behavior and its loud voice make it conspicuously different from 

 other birds. 



Enemies. — Jays are probably sometimes attacked by predatory birds 

 and animals, but they are fairly well able to take care of themselves and 

 defend their eggs and young. Man seems to be their bitter enemy. 

 Large numbers are shot every year by farmers and fruit growers where 

 the jays are damaging their crops. Organized jay shoots are popular 

 in some parts of California, under the pretext of reducing the numbers 

 of a destructive bird, but largely, too, as a pleasant recreation and an 

 interesting competition for the shooters ; dealers in ammunition also 

 find it profitable. Dr. Mary M. Erickson (1937) witnessed one of these 

 shoots and has published an interesting article on it. She says: 



Jay shoots have been held in Calaveras County for many years. Two persons 

 reported that hunts have taken place about once a year during the eleven and 

 fourteen years tliey had lived in the vicinity. Two old-time residents said that 

 occasional shoots had been held thirty or forty years previously. Recently, one 

 or two shoots a year have been held, usually in the fall, sometimes in the spring, 

 but the time of year and the number are irregular. The last shoot had been held 

 on October 20, 1935, when, according to a local newspaper, 1368 jays were killed. 

 The shoots, at least in recent years, have been conducted as contests between 

 two teams, and after tlie count there has been a dinner, or as this year, a barbecue 

 in which waves and friends shared, at the expense of the losing side. 



In the shoot that she witnessed, 398 California jays, 214 Steller's 

 jays, 1 red-tailed hawk, 1 Cooper's hawk, and 3 sparrow hawks were 

 brought in. She estimated that an area of approximately 200 square 

 miles was covered in the hunt, but probably not with systematic thor- 

 oughness. "On the day before the shoot, fifteen hours were spent by Mr. 

 Hooper and me in taking a census in three sample areas of typical jay 

 habitat, and every eiTort was made to get an accurate count. On this 

 meagre basis, the population is estimated as one jay, either California or 

 Steller, for every 5^^ acres of suitable habitat, or 118 jays per square 

 mile of such habitat. * * * In comparison with these figures, an estimate 

 for Calaveras County of one jay for every SYi acres, in an acre of 

 equally good or better habitat, does not seem excessive. Assuming that 

 only half of the total area is suitable for occupancy by jays, the jay 



