392 LIFE HISTUEIES OF NOETH AMEEiCAN BIEDS. 



157. Perisoreus canadensis nigricapillus Ridgway. 



LABRADOR JAY. 

 Perisoreus eanadoisis nigricapillus RiDGWAY, Proceedings U. S. National Museum, V, 



(B — , C — , E — , (J — , U 484*^.) 



1882, 15. 



Geookapiiioat. range: Coast regions of Labrador and the timbered |)()rtions of the 

 interior; uortU to Hudson Strait. 



The Liihrador Jay is a resident and Ijreeds wherever found. For all the 

 knowledge we possess of the life history of thi.s Jay we are principally indelited 

 to Mr. L. M. Turner, from whose copious inanuscrij)t notes on the "Birds of 

 Labrador and ITngava" I extract the most interesting- portions: 



"This Jay is an abundant resident througliout the entire region wherever 

 timber is to be found. I observed the bird at. liigolet, Davis Inlet, Georges 

 River, Whale River, Fort Cliimo, and far in the interior. At certain seasons it is 

 more plentiful than at otlievtiraes ; after August it is very abundant mitil tlie next 

 May, and is then very scarce until the following September. Over one hundred 

 and thirty specimens were preserved, and among this lunnber are birds of nearly 

 every month of the year. The breeding season could not be determined with 

 exactness, as it varies according to the exigencies of the weather. An adult 

 female procured April 9, 1883, contained ova of various sizes, the largcn- ones 

 measuring, respectively, 0.50, 0.44, and 0.33 inch in diameter; the largest ovum 

 was apparently ready to descend into the oviduct. * * * The Indians 

 assert that April is the month in which the Jays breed, and that only one brood is 

 reared each year. Young birds as large and actually heavier than adults were 

 obtained, fully feathered, from June 18 to 29. From May to September these 

 Jays are almost silent; not a sound will be heard in patches of wood fi-ecjuented 

 by them, and as they certainly attempt to conceal themselves during this period, 

 it is extremely difficult to obtain specimens, for they sit so quietly among the 

 thick moss and branches of the trees that detection is only rarely possible. In 

 October they assume their winter plumage and become livelier, uttering frequent 

 whistles wliich sound exactly like those made by one boy who hails another; 

 in fact, I have often mistaken the sound for that of a person whistling to attract 

 my attention. Their power of mimicry is also good; the notes of .the American 

 Roughdegged Hawk, for instance, are well imitated, as are also the clucking 

 sounds of the Catbird when it enters a thicket. 



"During the winter time these birds obtain a scantysiipply of food, and during 

 excessively severe periods they frequently are so reduced that a s])ecimen will 

 no more than equal the weight of a Redpoll (AmntJiis JiuurUi). They are 

 omnivorous; nothing comes amiss. I ol)tained a specimen which had the dried 

 Ijracts of a spruce cone in its beak. This mass was quite large and covered 

 with a viscid saliva. Inspection proved that this substance contained no larvae 

 which could have tempted the bird to swallow the mass tlu'ough inability to tear 



