[42-2-] BIRDS OF OREGON 



Willamette Valley the species is represented by scattered pairs. At Salem 

 and Dallas it is much more common, becoming less so again toward the 

 south until the Umpqua Valley is reached. There, and in the Rogue 

 River Valley and surrounding foothills, it becomes really abundant. It 

 is found in small numbers about the town of Klamath Falls and also in 

 the brushy hillsides across the southern part of the county. There is a 

 thriving colony along the slopes above the western shore line of Summer 

 Lake, and the species is found along both slopes of the Warner Moun- 

 tains southward from Abert Lake. The farthest east we have taken it is 

 on Hart Mountain, where Jewett obtained a specimen on September 16, 

 192.8. 



Currier took two nests on Columbia Slough near Portland, May 13, 

 1906, and May 10, 1907, each containing five eggs. Jewett found a nest 

 containing five small young near Gold Hill, Jackson County, May 17, 

 1916. Prill collected a set of four eggs at Scio, Linn County, June 4, 192.2., 

 and found four nests in the Warner Valley, three at Adel, June ix, 192.4, 

 June 3, 192.5, and June 4, 1932., containing three, four, and five eggs, 

 respectively, and one at Twenty-Mile Creek, May 2.7, 192.7, containing 

 five eggs. The nests were all made of dry sticks and fine roots and were 

 lined with hair. Walker collected a nest (Plate 74, A), four eggs, and 

 both parent birds in the Warner Valley on a hillside near Blue Creek, 14 

 miles west of Adel, June 4, 19x5 , and took eggs in the Rogue River Valley, 

 April 1 6 and 2.0, 19x8. There is a set of six eggs in the Braly collection 

 that were taken on Sauvies Island, April 19, 1932.. 



This is a bird of the manzanita and wild plum thickets, preferring 

 such cover as that of oaks or other deciduous trees to the coniferous 

 forests chosen by the crested jays. There the blue color and continual 

 squawking of the birds as they sail from one tree to another draw the 

 attention of every observer to their presence. The birds are a curious 

 mixture of timidity and boldness, a trait shared with others of the family. 

 If undisturbed, they soon become bold and noisy residents about build- 

 ings, but where they have been severely persecuted, it is a real sporting 

 proposition to get within gunshot of one. Like other jays, they are 

 notorious for their ability to find and destroy the eggs and young of 

 smaller birds and are universally condemned for such practices. 



Nicasio Jay: 



Aphelocoma calif ornica oocleptica Swarth 



DESCRIPTION. Same as Long-tailed Jay, but darker. Si%e: Length (skins) 10-11, 

 wing 4.80-5.04, tail 5.08-5.59, bill .91-1.06. Nest and eggs: Same as for Long-tailed 



Jay. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Coastal slope from San Francisco Bay north to southern Ore- 

 gon. In Oregon: Uncommon permanent resident of Curry County coast from Pistol 

 River south to California line. (See Figure 13.) 



