152 



BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



maining near the timber-line all the year round, braving 

 the most rigorous weather and the fiercest mountain 

 storms during the winter. Although not an attractive 

 species, his hardiness invests him with not a little in- 

 terest. One can imagine him seeking a covert in the 

 dense pineries when a storm sweeps down from the bald, 



snow- mantled 

 approval of 

 yet able to 



summits, squawking his dis- 

 the ferocity of old Boreas, and 

 resist his most violent onsets. 

 Early in April, at an alti- 

 tude of from eight thousand 

 to eleven thousand five hun- 

 dred feet, these jays begin to 

 breed. At that height this 

 is long before the snow 

 ceases to fall; indeed, on 

 the twentieth of June, 

 while making the descent 

 from Pike's Peak, I was 

 caught in a snowfall that 

 gave the ground quite 

 a frosty aspect for a 

 few minutes. One can 

 readily fancy, therefore, 

 that the nests of these 

 birds are often sur- 

 rounded with snow, 



The Rocky Mountain Jay 



" Seeking a covert in the dense pineries 

 when a storm sweeps down 

 from the mountains "_ 



