CROWS AND JAYS 



225 



glossed with pale l)liic ; the lower portion of the ah<lo- 

 men and anal region pale yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nkst: Well hidilen in dense 

 thickets; constructed of thorny twigs, and thinly lined 

 with grass, moss, rootlets, and hair. Eccs : 4 to 7, 



grayish, greenish or huffy white, spotted with brown 

 and lavender thickly around large end. 



Distribution. — Lower Kio Grande valley, in south- 

 ern Te,\as and northern Tamaulipas and N'uevo Leon, 

 from the coast as far up the valley as Laredo, Texas. 



This handsoim- Jay occurs cliicHy in soutli- 

 eastern Texas, and is essentially a bird of Mexico 

 rather than of the United States. It reveals 

 many of the characteri.stics of its family, inckid- 

 ins,' inciuisitivcness and pugnacity, and that it has 



a stroiij,' liking for flesh is shown i)y its practice 

 of lurking near houses and feeding on refuse 

 containing meat. It seems probable, therefore, 

 that it may have the nest-robbing habits which 

 characterize some of its relatives. 



CANADA JAY 

 Perisoreus canadensis canadensis (Linutrus) 



A. O. V. Number 484 Sec Color Plate 71 



Other Names. — Whiskey Jack; Camp Robber; 

 Whiskey John; Moose-bird; Meat Ilawk; Carrion 

 Hird ; (jrcasc Bird; Meat Bird; V'enison Bird. 



General Description. — Length, 11^ inches. Plum- 

 age, gray, dark above and light below. Wing, short 

 and rounded ; head, not crested. 



Color. — .Adult: Forehead (including nasal tufts), 

 fore part of croit:n, sides of head, chin, throat, and 

 chest, white; hack, shoulders, lesser wi)ui-coverts, 

 rump, and upper tail-coverts, plain mouse-gray; 

 wings and tail slate-gray, the primaries slightly more 

 bluish ; middle and greater wing-coverts sometimes 

 tipped with white; under parts of body, plain drab- 

 gray, paler (almost, sometimes quite, white) on anal 

 region and under tail-coverts; iris, brown. Young: 

 Above, including crown and hindneck, slate color or 

 brownish-slate; under parts, including chin, throat, and 

 chest, plain brownish slate-gray. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Placed in a conifer along- 

 side the trunk ; a bulky, high-walled structure of twigs, 

 pine-needles. Ijark-strips. grasses, and, as the eggs are 

 laid in March or April when the mercury frequently 

 registers 30° below zero, very warmly lined with 

 feathers and down. Eggs: 3 to 5, pearl-gray, heavily 

 speckled with brown and lavender. 



Distribution. — From northern limit of coniferous 

 forests south to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 

 northern Maine, higher mountains of New Hamp- 

 shire, Vermont, and northern New York (Adiron- 

 dacks), northern Ontario, northern Michigan, and 

 northern Minnesota — irregularly, casually, or during 

 winter to Massachusetts, vicinity of New York City, 

 Pennsylvania, southern Ontario, southern Michigan, 

 southeastern Wisconsin, and South Dakota ; west to Al- 

 berta ; north to lower Anderson and Mackenzie rivers, 

 and west side of Hudson Bay. 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



CANADA JAY i ; nat. size) 

 ' Whiskey Jack " always looks and acts fuddled, especially when he is planning to steal something 



