m 



306 Warren, Birds of the Elk Mountain Region, Colo. [j^y 



September, 1910, when camped on Middle Brush Creek at 9,750 feet, I saw 

 a few about. General!}' but one or two are seen at a time. On Muddy 

 Creek the species is more common, as the altitude is lower. When at 

 Adams's ranch in September, 1902, I saw these Jays carrying heads of 

 grain from the shocks in the field and hiding them in trees. Several birds 

 were constantly going back and forth on this errand. 



Perisoreus canadensis capitalis. Rocky Mountain Jay. Camp 

 Bird. — A common resident of the higher altitudes, making its home for 

 the most part in the heavy timber from 10,500 to 11,500 feet, but wandering 

 lower in the fall and early winter, and a few occasionally winter at quite 

 low altitudes about ranches and mines. It must breed before the snow is 

 gone as I shot a young one, full fledged but not long from the nest. May 31, 

 1900, which would indicate that the eggs must be laid in April, when the 

 snow is still deep at that altitude, and the nights, if not the days, cold. 

 The " Camp Robber," as it is often called, often becomes very tame and 

 familiar and will take food from the hand. In the fall of 1900 some were 

 very tame at the " Twin Springs," on the south slope of Mt. Emmons, 

 though no one was at that time living in the cabin there. They would 

 take ])read from my fingers, and one tried to steal a whole slice from my 

 lunch which was on the gi'ound close beside me, though I was dividing 

 with them quite fairly. Like all theu family they are great hands to carry 

 away and hide food, and when fed a bird will usually eat a mouthful or two, 

 take all it can hold in its bill, and fly off with it, presently returning to 

 repeat the performance. Some, at least, of the adult birds moult in June, 

 as I have seen them with short tails, or parts of the tail missing; the plum- 

 age of others was very ragged at that date. I have also seen birds in mid- 

 September which had not yet completed the moult. 



Corvus corax sinuatus. Raven. — - Not common, occasionally seen. 

 In lSS|5-6 there always used to be a few about the Augusta Mine at the 

 head of Poverty Gulch, 12,500 feet, feeding on the refuse thrown out by 

 the cook. C. F. Frey told me that Ravens bred in the cliffs on Anthracite 

 Creek above the " Watson Ranch." Possibly the Ravens at the Augusta 

 may have come from there as this mine is at the head of a branch of Anthra- 

 cite Creek. In June, 1901, a number were seen near the trail between 

 Anthracite and Muddy Creeks; a band of sheep was lambing there and a 

 good many dead lambs were aliout. 



Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos. Crow. — Early in 1901 

 H. A. Decker saw several bii'ds near Crested Butte which he was sm-e were 

 Crows. He said they " cawed," and were not as large as Ravens, with 

 which he was familiar. Confirmatory of this, October 27, 1905, 1 saw 6 or 8 

 birds a few miles north of Gunnison, or 20 miles south of Crested Butte, 

 which I had no doubt were Crows. 



Nucifraga columbiana. Clarke's Nutcracker. — Not common, at 

 least about Crested Butte, though at Anderson's ranch, Marble, the last 

 of September, 1900, a good many were coming about the house for scraps, 

 and were quite tame. They seemed to rather bully the Camp Birds and 



