slijjhtlv the most numerous and constitute 4.3 per cent of the year's food. In 

 ]ul\', .August, -and .September, however, the amount is 14, 18, and 19 per cent, 

 respectively. I-'our per cent of the food consists of wasps, bees, etc., but in the 

 three months named they constitute 15, 7, and 9 per cent, respectively. A worker 

 honevbee found in each of two stomachs is rather surprising, for it is unusual to 

 find a bird Hke the jay eating many of these active and elusive insects, which 

 enter into the diet of the flycatchers. The remainder of the insect food is pretty 

 evenly (hstributed among Ijeetles, bugs, flies, and caterpillars. Eggshells were 

 found in 21 stomachs and birds' bones in 5. Six stomachs contained the bones of 

 mammals and two those of a lizard. No bird has a worse reputation for nest 

 robbing than has the eastern jay, and yet of 530 stomachs of the eastern species 

 only 6 contained eggshells or the bones of birds. This comparison serves to show 

 what a marauder and nest thief the California jay really is. 



In its vegetable diet this bird much resembles its eastern relative, the most 

 remarkable difference being in the matter of fruit eating. With greater oppor- 

 tunities the California bird has developed a greater appetite for fruit and indulges 

 it to the fullest extent. Remains of fruit were found in 220 of the 326 stomachs. 

 The percentage for the year is only 16, but for the four months of June, July, 

 August, and September it is 44, 33, 53, and 25, respectively. Cherries, apricots, 

 and prunes are the favorites among cultivated fruits, and elderberries are relished 

 to some extent. Grain, whicli was found in 48 stomachs, amounts to 6 per cent 

 of the food of the year. Practically all of it was taken in the four months above 

 mentioned, but it is not probable that much damage is done by the jay in this 

 respect. The major portion of the grain was oats. What was not wild was 

 probably simply scattered grain gleaned after the harvest. Mast is eaten by the 

 California jay from September to March, inclusive, and constitutes during most 

 of that period one of the principal elements of its food. In this respect the bird 

 shows a remarkable similarity to the eastern species. A few weed seeds and 

 other miscellaneous items make up the balance of the vegetable food. 



In summing up from an economic point of view the character of the food of 

 the California jay, it must be conceded that it is not all that could be wished. 

 Its taste for birds' eggs and frait is entirely too pronounced, and at present the 

 species is superabundant in California. While the natural food supply of the 

 bird has been lessened by bringing the woods and brushy canyons under cultiva- 

 tion, the same areas have been planted to fruit, and naturally the jay takes the 

 fruit as an acceptable substitute. A considerable reduction of the bird's numbers 

 would appear to be the only effective remedy. 



512 



