CUUMD.K THE CKUWS. 3()] 



isotlu'niml line of tliis i't'u;i(»n ])iis.S('s soutli of ('iiH'iniuiti, shows tliut cliiiiate 

 and lLMn])c'ratiir(' dn not ivgulute tlie lanue of this spoi-ies. As roscivt'd in 

 tlu> summer months amouij; tlie forests of Oregon, the Caiuula Jay appeared 

 as a rather shy hird, exhihitin^ none of the familiarity and impudenee ex- 

 hihited in winter when made hold hy hun<j:er. 



Wilson mentions the St. Lawrenee as the soutliern boundary of this bird, 

 a few only winterini,' in Northern New York and Vermont. I>ut tliis is 

 inexact. They are found resident throuij;hout the year in si large i>art of 

 Maine and in all the hii^ddands of New Uami)shire and Vermont. Thev 

 are resident at Calais, where they breed in March at aluuit latitude 4r»'\ and 

 descend in the winter to the southwest corner of Vermont, whence it is 

 (piite probable a few cross into Massiichusetts, at Williamstown and Adams, 

 thiiuj^di none have bt*en detected, that I am aware. Wilson himself states 

 that he was informed by a .Lientleman residing near Hudson, N. Y., that these 

 birds have been observed in that neii'hborhood in the winter. 



Dr. Cones met with these birds in Librador. The tirst he saw were in a 

 dense spruce forest. These were very shy, alighting only on the tops of the 

 tallest trees, and Hying olf with loud harsh screams on his approach. Sub- 

 se<iuently, at IJigolet, he found them abundant and very familiar. One or 

 more were always to l)e seen lio}»ping unconcernedly in tiie garden-patches 

 around the houses, not in the least disturbed by the near presence of man, 

 and showing no signs of fear even when very closely approached. He 

 describes their voice as a harsh, discordant scream. 



Mr. Edward Harris, of ^roorest()wn, N. J., informed Mr. Audubon, that 

 once, when fishing in a canoe in one of the lakes in the interior of Maine, 

 these Jays were so fearless as to light on one end of his boat while he sat in 

 the other, and helped themselves to his bait without taking any notice of 

 him. 



A nest of the Canada Jay, foun<l by Mr. Boardman near St. Ste])hen's, 

 New Brunswick, measures four and a half inches in diameter and three 

 inches in height. The cavity is about three inches wide and tAvo deep. The 

 nest is woven above a rude jdatform of sticks and twigs crossed and inter- 

 laced, furnishing a roughly made hemispherical l)ase and ])eriphery. I pon 

 this an inner and more artistic nest has been wrought, made of a soft felting 

 of tine mosses closely impacted and lined w^ith feathers. The nest containetl 

 three ei^gs. 



The egg of the Canada Jay measures 1.20 inches in length, by .82 of an 

 inch in breadth. They are of an oblong-oval shape, and are more tapering 

 at the smaller end than are most of the eggs of this family. The ground- 

 color is of a light gray, with a slightly yellowish tinge over the entire 

 e^^^fl,, finely marked, more abundantly about the larger end, with ]ioints 

 and blotches of slate-color and brown, and faint cloudings of an obscure 

 lilac. 



O ii 



