382 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE TOSEMITE 



and different intonations so that a great variety of sound results. It is 

 known that Blue Jays occasionally give a low but musical song and also 

 that at least some individuals can imitate other birds besides hawks. It 

 seems likely, therefore, that these birds are able to comment intelligibly 

 to one another on many different experiences and situations. Here, in 

 this, one of the 'highest' of the birds, we find that a 'language' has been 

 e\'olved, doubtless to the increased advantage of the species. 



Blue-fronted Jays are omnivorous, in that they take any and all kinds 

 of food that the season or place may afford. Camp scraps, bread, fruit, 

 etc., are eaten more or less readily, and pieces of fresh meat are always 

 in demand. An adult male shot on the East Fork of Indian Caiion above 

 Yosemite Valley on June 25, 1915, had its mouth and throat filled with 

 beetles. Two Blue-fronted Jays seen in golden oaks near Yosemite Point 

 on November 19, 1915, along with Band-tailed Pigeons and California 

 Gray Squirrels, were evidently feeding on acorns. The latter source is 

 doubtless a mainstay, resorted to when more desirable food fails. 



An interesting habit of the Blue-fronted Jay in hiding food material 

 has been recorded by Dr. Barton Warren Evermann (1915a, p. 58). While 

 his party was eating lunch at Happy Isles on July 12, 1914, one of these 

 jays came down close in quest of food. Bits of cracker were thrown to 

 the bird one at a time. One of these was carried off into the forest, 

 another was eaten, and a third piece was carried to a neighboring incense 

 cedar. This piece the jay wedged and drove into a crevice in the bark 

 and then stripped off several small pieces of bark and placed them in 

 the crack so as to conceal effectively the piece of cracker. The habit recalls 

 that of the California Jay in burying acorns and other bits of provender 

 in the ground. 



Enemies of the Blue-fronted Jay do not seem to be numerous. We 

 have already related, in the chapter on the Sharp-shinned Hawk, an 

 encounter between one of those birds and a jay. Mr. Donald D. McLean 

 says that this hawk is the principal enemy of the Blue-fronted Jay at 

 his place east of Coulterville. 



No bird in the assemblage of forest-inhabiting species is more secretive 

 with regard to its nesting activities than the Blue-fronted Jay. During 

 the whole of this season, all the artfulness of which the jay is capable is 

 devoted to keeping secret the location of its nest. The structure, although 

 large, as are the nests of most birds of this family, is often hidden in a 

 dense growth of vegetation. And the greatest stealth is observed by the 

 jay in gathering and carrying nest material and in approaching or leaving 

 the site, no matter whether the nest is only under construction or contains 

 eggs or young. No notes are uttered within the immediate environs of 

 a nest and so upon hearing a jay call during the late spring or early 

 summer, one may know at once that the bird is not at its nest. 



