226 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



To those who know his habits, " Whiskey 

 Jack " seems about as undesirable a citizen of 

 bird-land as his noisy American cousin, the Bkie 

 Jay. Which is to say, he is a nest-robber, and 

 in this role is immensely unpopular with his 

 feathered kind, as well as with their human 

 friends. In appearance, however, he bears little 

 resemblance to the American dandy, for there 

 are only black, white, and gray, no bright blue, 

 in his plumage, which furthermore presents an 

 unkempt appearance, so that withal "Jack" looks 

 a good deal like an exaggerated and much dishev- 

 eled Chicadee. Also " Jack " has a distinctly 

 uncanny air about him as he sits on a branch and 



There are three variant forms of the Canada 

 Jaw In the \\"est, in the Rocky Mountain region, 

 from central British Columbia, southern Alberta, 

 and southwestern South Dakota south to Arizona 

 and Nebraska, is the White-headed or Rocky 

 Mountain Jay {Pcrisoreus canadensis capitalis). 

 He is larger and lighter colored than the Canada 

 Jay ; the whole of his head is white, except the 

 space just around and behind the eyes, which, 

 together with the hindneck, is slate-grayish. In 

 the wooded parts of Alaska and the adjacent 

 part of Canada we find the Alaska Jay (Periso- 

 rciis canadensis finnifrons). He is a Canada 

 Jay who has put on a dusky hood over his crown 



CANADA JAY 

 He is aoout the cheekiest thing that wears feathers 



Courtesy ot i'tdd and Stream 



regards you vacantly with his beady, black eyes, 

 or flits noiselessly around your camp. But don't 

 make the mistake of supposing that he is really 

 preoccujiied or absent-minded, much less timid, 

 for actually he is about the cheekiest thing that 

 wears feathers. All the time, probably, he has 

 his eye on the bacon or the potatoes, which he 

 will not hesitate to steal from under your very 

 nose if he sees the opportunity. Hence his well- 

 deserved name, " Camp Robber." But the man 

 who doesn't enjoy being robbed by such a thief, 

 had better stay at home and sit in the parlor. 



As a vocalist, " Jack " is considerably more 

 versatile, though no more musical, than the Blue 

 Jay. When he feels so disposed, he can produce 

 an astonishing medley of " chucks," whistles, 

 squalls, squawks, and screams. He doesn't seem 

 to swear as much as the Blue Jay does, but he 

 has been known to provoke profanity from more 

 than one still-hunter, whose presence and purpose 

 he is particularly fond of announcing and then 

 ridiculing for the information and amusement of 

 all the woods-folk within a radius of half a mile. 



George Gladden. 



leaving only his forehead white. The third 

 variety is found in the eastern part of British 

 .\merica and is named the Labrador Jay [Pcriso- 

 reus canadensis nif/ricapilliis) . He is smaller 



Photo by 11. li. .-Vnthony 



OREGON JAY 



