1 8 Warren, The Canada Jay. [-| a u n k 



by the old birds. I often watched them feeding the young when 

 my eyes were not three feet from the birds, thus giving a chance 

 for the closest possible observation (Fig. 3). I have held my 

 hand on the side of the nest while the mother unconcernedly fed 

 her babies, but I was never able to take as great liberties with 

 the male. 



During the first few days after the nestlings were born, the 

 male brought most of the food, the female remaining at the nest 

 and, when the male returned, assisting in giving the food to the 

 young by putting her bill into their mouths and forcing down any 

 troublesome morsels. As the birds grew older the female took a 

 more active part in carrying the food. I have timed them during 

 the feeding hours and found that they came and went about 

 every fifteen minutes with great regularity until the young were 

 satisfied. When the male had discharged his burden he left 

 immediately without waiting for the return of the female, but the 

 mother always staid until the male had returned or was in sight. 

 The male was never seen on the nest during the period of incu- 

 bation, nor afterwards, and as his color is much darker than the 

 female's there was never any trouble in distinguishing between 

 them, even at a distance. 



The female cleaned the nest often and very carefully, keeping 

 it perfectly free from any filth. It seems this was done both for 

 cleanliness and for the purpose of keeping the nest dry and 

 warm. A picture was taken of this nest cleaning operation but 

 was unfortunately light struck (Fig. 4). It shows the four young 

 to good advantage as they were all pushed up to the edge of the 

 nest to allow the mother plenty of room for her work. The male 

 always picked up any droppings which were cast over the nest 

 and had clung to the branches, carrying all away almost every 

 time he left the nest. By this constant care no trace of the pres- 

 ence of the nest was allowed at any time. It should also be 

 added here that the young never made any noise excepting a 

 weak chirp while with open mouths they waited their turn to 

 be fed. 



When the nestlings had their hunger appeased they took a 

 nap, either seeking a covering under their mother's wing or 

 basking in the sunshine. The mother finally became so accus- 



