JAYS AND MAGPIES: Family Corvidae [417] 



5.95, tail 5.14-5.65, bill .69-. 81. Nest: Of long slender twigs and straw, woven 

 into a basketlike platform, thickly lined with moss and feathers of the Coast and 

 Gray Jays. Eggs: 3 or 4, similar to those of the Oregon Jay. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from southern British Columbia through Cascades 

 of Washington and Oregon to northern California. In Oregon: Permanent resident 

 of both slopes of Cascades from Mount Hood south to California line, westward in 

 Siskiyous at least to vicinity of Oregon Caves, and eastward to vicinity of Lakeview. 

 (See Figure n.) 



THIS PALER FORM, the Gray Jay, inhabits an area in Oregon roughly 

 triangular in shape, with the apex at Mount Hood and the base extending 

 along the California line from near Lakeview to a point south of Grants 

 Pass. There it is a common permanent resident, being particularly partial 

 to the lodgepole pine and spruce belts on the higher parts of the range. 

 Mearns (1879) listed it from Fort Klamath on February 2., 1875, and 

 Merrill (1888) reported it common from the same territory. Bendire 

 (1895 a) reported seeing young west of Linkville (Klamath Falls) on 

 June 9, 1883, and others on the Deschutes River, June 12., 1881. 



Braly took two sets of eggs from one pair of birds near Sandy in the 

 spring of 1932.. The first set, containing three eggs, was taken April 3; 

 the second, containing four eggs, April 2.0. Both nests were obtained, 

 and the description given above was written from them. Braly had first 

 seen these birds on March 16 breaking twigs and carrying them to the 

 nest site, which was some 75 feet from the ground in a fir tree. There is 

 a set of three eggs in the Jack Bowles collection taken May 16 (?) that 

 passed through several hands before it reached him. Jewett received the 

 nest through Jack Horton, of the Forest Service, and gave it to Bowles. 

 The set originally contained four eggs, but one was broken in handling. 

 These are the only Oregon nests of which we have been able to get any 

 record. 



Coast Jay: 



Cyanocitta stelleri carbonacea Grinnell 



DESCRIPTION. Adults: "Conspicuously crested; fore parts of body dull blackish, chang- 

 ing to pale blue on lower back and belly; wings and tail purplish blue, barred with 

 black. Young: similar, but duller; wing bars faint or wanting." (Bailey) Si%e: 

 Length (skins) 10. 00-12.. 50; wing 5.35-6.2.2., tail 4.91-5.75, bill .98-1.15. Nest: 

 'Usually in conifers, made of twigs or grass, cemented with mud, and lined with fine 

 vegetation. Eggs: 3 to 5, pale blue-green, spotted and blotched with brown. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Humid coast strip from northern Oregon to central Cali- 

 fornia. In Oregon: Permanent resident of western Oregon, including west slope of 

 Cascades, excepting Siskiyous and foothills around Rogue River Valley. Birds of 

 northern half of eastern slope of Cascades also are. closer to this form, though indi- 

 viduals are found that superficially resemble frontal is. (See Figure 12..) 



THE BEAUTIFUL dark-blue crested jay in some of its various forms is a 

 well-known inhabitant of the Oregon forest lands. This particular sub- 

 species, the Coast Jay, is the one found in the Willamette Valley and the 



