A BIRD MISCELLANY 151 



A pretty picture is one of these jays mounting from 

 branch to branch around the stem of a pine tree, from 

 the lower limbs to the top, as if he were ascending a 

 spiral staircase. This seems to be one of their regula- 

 tion habits when they find themselves under inspection. 

 If you intrude on their domestic precincts, their cry is 

 quite harsh, and bears no resemblance to the quaint 

 calls of the eastern jays ; nor does the plaintive note of 

 the eastern representative, so frequently heard in the 

 autumnal woods, ever issue from any of the numerous 

 jay throats of the West. 



Far be it from me to blacken the reputation of any 

 bird, but there is at least circumstantial evidence that 

 the long-crested jay, like his eastern cousin, is a nest 

 robber ; for such birds as robins, tanagers, flycatchers, 

 and vireos make war upon him whenever he comes 

 within their breeding districts, and this would indicate 

 that they are only too well aware of his predatory 

 habits. More than that, he has the sly and stealthy 

 manners of the sneak-thief and the brigand. Of course, 

 he is by no means an unmixed evil, for you will often 

 see him leaping about on the lawns, capturing beetles 

 and worms which would surely be injurious to vegeta- 

 tion if allowed to live and multiply. 



There are other jays in the Rockies that deserve 

 attention. The Rocky Mountain jay Perisoneus can- 

 adensis capitalis is a bird of the higher altitudes, re- 



