THE OOLOGIST. 



I'S'i 



sprinkled about, but the former trees 

 are where the Jay iu questioa loves to 

 frequent during the breeding season. 



The nest is usually i)laeed in a treere- 

 senii)ling the pitch pine (,pin?/f: rigida,) 

 though I am inclined to think that, like 

 their eastern relative the Blue Jay (Ct/a- 

 norAlta cristata.) they not infrequently 

 build their nests in any of the other 

 coniferous trees with which the coun- 

 try abounds. 



The distance of the nest from the 

 ground varies from twelve to twenty 

 feet, though, of course, there must be 

 extremities both ways. 



The eggs are usuallj^ laid aliout the 

 last week in May, and are usually four 

 or five in number. I think that a des- 

 cription of a nest and set of eggs taken 

 May 21, 1892, will furnish sufficient par- 

 ticulars to suit the purpose of this arti. 

 cle. 



The nest was placed twenty feet from 

 the ground in a pitch pine and is a typi- 

 cal one of the species, It is (with the 

 exception of the general nature of the 

 material used) altogether different from 

 that of the Blue Jay, being at least three 

 times as bulky as an average nest of the 

 latter bird. 



The material consists outwardlj' of a 

 substantial lair of twigs of the quaking 

 asp and has a lining from an inch in 

 thickness in some places to an inch and 

 a half in others, composed entirely of 

 rootlets which are very neatly inter- 

 woven so as to form a hollow in which 

 to place the eggs. Despite this bulk of 

 material it would, witii the exception of 

 the lining, almost instantly fall to pieces 

 when taken out of tiie tree, if not held 

 together in some manner. Externally 

 it measures 8 inches in dianieter x 3J 

 inches in depth; the cavity is 3i inches 

 in diameter x H inches in depth. 



The eggs wliich were four in number 

 (one was unfortunately broken,) do not 

 at all resemble those of the Blue Jay. 

 They are of a light blue ground color 

 having vn-y faint tinge of greenish. 



They are spotted at the larger ends (juite 

 thk'kl}' with greenish brown, having 

 spots and dots of the same color scat- 

 tered thickly over the entire surface. 

 The peculiarity in the markings is that 

 very few of the spots are larger than 

 the head of an ordinary pin This is 

 very different from the eggs of the east- 

 ern bird which, as is well known, have 

 large spots and often blotches all over 

 the egg. The dimensions of the four 

 eggs iu this nest are subject to slight 

 variation. The largest egg measures 

 1.20X.8G inches; the smallest l.ir)x.82 

 inches. 



To make sure of the identity the i)ar- 

 ent bird was shot and is at this moment 

 posing before me in company with a 

 Blue Jay from Massachusetts. 



This handsome species seems to be 

 about as thonnighly detested by the 

 ranchmen who kee}) hens as are the 

 hawks, for they can easilj' outclass a 

 hen at eating her corn and the only way 

 to prevent their doing so is to watch the 

 hens or shoot the Jays and the latter 

 method is usually adopted, when pos- 

 sible, as the. surest. They are bolder 

 than any other bird I know of and have 

 fully as much intelligence. 



My first call at my next-door-neigh- 

 bor's cabin was about as amusing as 

 anything I have experienced in the or- 

 nithological line. I was sitting at the 

 door of the cabin watching him feed his 

 chickens and he had no sooner finished 

 and come back to me, when three or 

 four Jays swooped from the neighbor- 

 ing trees into the mid.st of the chicken's 

 food. 



I innocently asked iiini if he thought 

 the chickens would gft their sh.ire. At 

 this he turncMl round, and seeing them, 

 he exjjresscd his opinion of them in re- 

 marl<> more forcible than polite and 

 ended by saying Ihat, although he ha<l 

 shot more than he could shake .i stick 

 at, there was alw.ays just the same num- 

 lier at each meal. I noticed Ihat these 

 piirlicnhir bir Is weicj alwiys off liktJ 

 th(! wind the in^I.iiit the door latch rat- 

 tle«l. 



