THE PINON JAY. 



No. 6. 



PINON JAY. 



A. ( ». U. Xo. 492. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus (^iNIaxini. ). 



Synonyms. — HiA i- Criav. Maximilian's Jay. Pine Jav. 



Description. — .-Uliilts: J'lumage dull grayish blue, cleepeniug on cmwn and 

 nape, brightening on cheeks, paling below posteriorly, streaked and grayish white 

 on chin, throat and chest centrally ; bill and feet black ; iris brown. Voting birds 

 duller, gray rather than blue, except on wings and tail. Length of adult males 

 11.00-12.00; wing 6.00 (154) ; tail 4.50 (114) ; bill 1.42 (36) : tarsus 1.50 (38). 

 Female somewhat smaller. 



Recognition Marks. — Robin size ; blue color ; crow-like aspect. 



Nesting. — Nut supposed to nest in State. 



General Range. — Pinon and juniper woods of western United States; north 

 to southern British Columbia (interior), Idaho, etc.; south to Northern Lower 

 California. .Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas; casually along the eastern 

 slopes of the Rocky Mts. 



Range in Washington. — One record by Capt. Bendire, Fort Simcoe, 

 Yakima Co., June, 1881, "(luitc numerous."' Presumably casual at close of 

 nesting season. 



Authorities. — ["Maximilian's Nutcracker." Johnson, Rep. C.ov. \V. T. 1884 

 (T885), 22.] Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus (Wied), Bendire, Life Hist. .\'. A. 

 Birds.A'ol. IL p. 425 ( 1S95).' 



Specimens. — C. 



C.\PTAIX BE.XDIKK who is sole authority tor the occurrence of 

 this bird in \\'ashington may best he allowed to speak here from his wide 

 experience : 



"The Pinon Jav. locally known as ".Nutcracker." 'Maximilian's Jay,' 

 'Blue Crow,' and as "Pinonario' by the Mexicans, is rather a common resident 

 in suitable localities throughout the southern portions of its range, while 

 in the northern parts it is only a summer visitor, migrating regularly. It 

 is most abundantly found throughout the pinon and cedar-covered foothills 

 abounding between the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the 

 eastern bases of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges in California, Nevada, 

 and Oregon. 



"It is an eminenth- sociable species at all times, e\en during the i)reeding 

 season, ;ind is usually seen in large compact llocks, moving about from 

 place to place in search of feeding groimds, Iieing on the whole rather restless 

 and erratic in its movements; you may meet with thous.uids in a place 

 to-day and perhaps to-morrow you will fail to see a single one. It is rarely 

 met with at altitudes of over 9,000 feet in summer, and scarcely ever in 



