300 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



ing in May at Anderson River Fort by Mr. MacFarlane. It was also pro- 

 cured at Big Island by Mr. Reid, at ISTulato and Unalakleet by Mr. Dall, at 

 St. Michael's by Colonel Bulkley, at Tort Kenai by Bischoff, and at Fort Rae 

 by Mr. Clarke. From the memoranda of Mr. MacFarlane, we liave valuable 

 information in regard to the nesting and breeding habits of this species. ]\Iay 

 24, at Fort Anderson, an Indian lad discovered a nest of this Jay. It was 

 built in a tree, was composed of hay and feathers, and contained, with two 

 young birds a few days old, an egg that was perfectly fresh. This bird, Mr. 

 MacFarlane states, is tolerably numerous in that quarter. During the severe 

 cold of winter it is not quite so common as at other seasons. It is by no 

 means a difficult bird to shoot, as it will always venture into close prox- 

 imity to man. Flesh or fish are certain to attract numbers of them, and 

 they also cause great annoyance to the marten-hunter, by eating the bait 

 placed in the traps used for capturing those animals. None of this species 

 were observed on the Arctic coast, nor east of Horton River, Fort Anderson 

 being the most northern point where Mr. MacFarlane saw any, in his jour- 

 neys across the barren grounds. 



Other nests found in the same region were usually Ijuilt in spruce-trees, 

 on branches near the trunk, well concealed from view, and about ten feet 

 from the ground. They were constructed of hay and feathers, supported 

 underneath by a few willow sticks laid crosswise. 



Mr. Dall characterizes this species as a very bold and familiar bird, that 

 will frequently fly down and steal away his dinner from some hungry dog, 

 if he is not on the alert, or devour the fisli hung up in camp by the Indians 

 to dry. They breed very early, and occupy the same nest year after year. 

 The nest is very large, and composed entirely of soft materials, moss, hair, 

 and the like. On the 20th of April, Mr. Dall received a nest of this Jay 

 containing four half-fledged young, so that they must lay in March. The 

 bird was abundant everywhere on the Yukon River. 



These birds are known throughout the fur countries by the name of 

 Whiskey-Jack, not from any supposed predilection for that beverage, but 

 probably, as Mr. Kennicott has suggested, from a corruption of the Indian 

 name for these birds, Wiss-ka-chon, which has been contorted into Whiskey- 

 John and thence into Whiskey- Jack. Richardson observed these birds from 

 Canada to the fur countries as far as latitude 69°. Throughout that region 

 it is a constant attendant at the fur-posts and fishing-stations, and becomes 

 so tame in the winter as to feed from the hand. Yet it is impatient of con- 

 finement, and soon pines away if deprived of its liberty. Its voice is said to 

 be plaintive and squeaking, though it occasionally makes a low chattering. 

 It hoards berries, pieces of meat, etc., in hollow trees, or between layers of 

 bark, by which it is enabled to feed its young while the ground is still 

 covered with snow. 



Dr. Newberry found this Jay as far to the south, in California, as the 

 upper end of the Sacramento Valley, in latitude 40°. The fact that the 



