JAYS 389 



The voice of the California Jay, although considerably varied, is easily 

 recognized and remembered after once learned, but we find it difficult to 

 describe intelligibly. To one of the present authors (Grinnell) some of 

 the more common notes seem possible of representation as follows: cheek, 

 cheek, cheek, etc., staccato, 3 to 10 times in rapid succession; chu'-ick, 

 chu'-ick, chu'-ick, etc., usually in 3's, slowly; schwee-ick, higher-pitched, 



2 to 6 times, uttered still more slowly. To the other author (Storer) the 

 following transcriptions seem to represent the notes most often heard: 

 (1) A series of mildly harsh notes, kwish, kwish, kwish, uttered usually 



3 to 5 times in quick succession; (2) a more protracted softer note, 

 kschu-ee, or jai-e, usually given singly. Birds of a pair when foraging 

 together, and young and adults when in family parties, utter a subdued 

 guttural hrr'r'rWr. When attending young still in the nest, the parent 

 birds utter a low crooning, impossible of representation in syllables; and 

 the young birds, after leaving the nest and before gaining their living 

 independently, have a "teasing scold" which they utter almost incessantly, 

 in keeping their parents apprised of their need for food. Most or all of 

 the above notes are uttered with various modifications, perhaps to indicate 

 different shades of meaning. As is true of some other members of its 

 family the California Jay employs a 'language' which it probably finds 

 of considerable usefulness. 



With the coming of early spring, the instincts which accompany the 

 nesting season are revived and the jays commence the construction of their 

 nests. Building, in some instances, probably begins in April, as by early 

 May nests wuth eggs or young are common. Young birds, out of the nests, 

 were seen in the third week of May, 1915 ; while at the same time a pair 

 of adults was seen constructing a nest. All broods are not brought off 

 at the same time. Our findings may be given in some detail here to 

 present a more complete record of the nesting of the California Jay in 

 the Yosemite region. 



A nest with 4 nearly fresh eggs was found near Lagrange on May 8 

 (1919). On May 10, that year, a nest with one young bird and the other 

 eggs on the point of hatching was seen near Coulterville. On May 21 

 (1915) a nest was found under construction near Pleasant Valley, and on 

 May 23 young were heard, out of the nest, near the same place; while on 

 May 30 an adult with 3 young scarcely able to fly was seen there, and on 

 June 3, a family party of 4 of these jays was seen near the McCarthy 

 ranch, 3 miles east of Coulterville. The young birds remain with their 

 parents for a long time, even into August, and so have a long period of 

 dependence or semi-dependence. After that the individuals or pairs scatter 

 out everywhere through the oak covered regions. 



