JAYS 383 



In the Yosemite region the nesting season of this species begins in 

 April or early May and lasts until July. The nest with young, found 

 on May 18, 1919 (see below), must have been begun in late April. The 

 numerous foraging expeditions of the Blue-fronted Jays during June, 

 as announced by the commotions among small birds heard during that 

 month, probably meant that the jays had young at that time, as did the 

 finding of a mass of insects in the throat of an adult jay taken on June 25, 

 1915. In Yosemite Valley, on June 27, 1915, a family of these birds was 

 seen, the young still being attended by their parents. Only two nests of 

 this jay came to our immediate attention. 



On the road between " Kenney ville " and Mirror Lake in Yosemite 

 Valley, on May 22, 1919, a pair of Blue-fronted Jays was come upon in 

 the act of gathering material for their nest. Several people had camps 

 on the ground about what proved to be the nest tree, so that the jays did 

 not in this instance seem to mind the presence of an observer and they 

 were watched for some minutes. One of the jays was seen to fly into a 

 black oak, obtain a twig, and carry it off, upward, through the adjacent 

 trees to the nest site, at the top of a yellow pine, fully 40 feet above 

 the ground. Then the other member of the pair came, broke off a twig, 

 dropped it, evidently by accident, and sought another. This bird seemed 

 more particular and hopped about the tree for some time before choosing 

 another twig. Pieces dry enough to break off readily, and a little longer 

 than the jay's body, were chosen, and twisted off by a wrench with the 

 bill. The twig would be worked along between the mandibles until held 

 across the middle and then the jay would ascend by the usual vertical 

 hopping and short flights to the nest. Following the taking of black oak 

 twigs the two jays, together, flew across the river which flowed close by 

 the nest tree, and there, descending quickly to the ground, sought material 

 in an azalea thicket at the edge of the water. Each took a quantity of 

 twigs and grass and apparently also some mud, and flew again to the nest 

 tree. Again they took twigs from the black oak. From this alternate 

 selection of twigs and muddy material it was inferred that the nest was 

 well under way. The jays were not heard to call within 150 feet of the 

 nest tree. One was seen, after depositing material at the nest site, to sail 

 monoplane-like off through the trees, calling only after the nest was well 

 behind. 



On May 18, 1919, careful search through a thicket of young pine trees 

 on the floor of Yosemite Valley in the vicinity of Rocky Point led to the 

 discovery of an occupied nest of the Blue-fronted Jay. The nest was in 

 a small yellow pine which stood at the edge of the thicket bordering a 

 clearing which opened onto the Merced River about 30 yards off. The 

 rim of the nest was 2700 millimeters (8 feet 10 inches) above the ground, 



