The Oologists' Record, December i, 192 1. 75 



The normal breeding season commences between the end of 

 March and the middle of April, and is prolonged as late as June 

 by the loss of the first, and sometimes second, set of eggs. Nor- 

 malh', it appears that there is only one brood brought up in the 

 season. I have noted in inches the measurements of the single egg 

 taken in the Judean Hills, i -64 x i • 16, and its coloration as " bright 

 greyish green, tinged bluish ; shell spots and fine speckles of greyish, 

 greyish brown, and greyish purple all over ; surface spots and 

 blotches, chiefly at the larger end, of sepia and brownish." 



. There is nothing remarkable in the colouring of the eggs taken 

 in the Coastal Plain in 1920 ; they are much the same as the above, 

 though the set of two is bluer, with fewer markings, which are 

 principally confined to the top of the large end. This species is 

 resident throughout its range, though it moves about a great deal 

 during the winter, when it may often be found in fairly large flocks. 



Syrian Jay — Garruhts glandarius atricapilliis. 



Unknown in the Coastal Plain, but breeds freely in the Judean 

 Hills, where I found nests from 1,500 to 2,500 feet. I believe it 

 also nests in the hills near Nazareth, as I saw some of these hand- 

 some birds in that neighbourhood in the middle of March. Nests 

 were invariably placed in olive trees from 5 to 20 feet above the 

 ground ; there was no attempt at concealment, so they were not 

 hard to find. It was unusual to find a nest on the hill-crests or 

 slopes, or in the large valleys between hill ranges, as this species 

 prefers the smaller well-wooded ravines and vales running up into 

 the hills. In such localities there would nearly always be a pair 

 of Jays, and no more, and then it was only a question of systemati- 

 cally searching that area to find their nest. The same pair evidently 

 breed in their own special locality 3'ear after year, judging by the 

 number of old nests which were found in all stages of decay. 



The nests do not appear td" differ in construction from those 

 built by the British bird, consisting as they do of a scanty founda- 

 tion of thin sticks and twigs into which is interwoven a fairl}^ solid 

 layer of rootlets, this being lined ^vith finer rootlets. In one case 

 the nest seemed far too small for the sitting bird, which could hardlv 

 get into it, and had her tail cocked up right over her back. Another 

 nest was in a tiny stunted olive tree, not 7 feet above the ground, 

 and quite conspicuous ; incidentally, this was the only nest found 

 on the slopes of a hill near the crest. I have not enough data to 



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