394 ANIMAL LIFE IX THE TOSEMITE 



Although the Clark Nutcracker is a characteristic resident of the 

 Hudsonian Zone, it strays both above and below this belt. In summer, 

 after the broods of the year are fledged, some of the birds move down the 

 mountains. For instance, they appear at Glacier Point in August where 

 they are not ordinarily seen or heard earlier. And at the same sea.son 

 they sometimes wander up over the rock-strewn ridge crests well above 

 timber line. Some of the nutcrackers which stray to the lower altitudes 

 remain there at least until early winter, as the species has been observed 

 about the top of Yosemite Falls in October, and near Gentrys and Merced 

 Grove Big Trees in December. But most of the birds remain at the normal 

 high altitudes through the winter months. 



The bird's conspicuously pied plumage, set forth best when in flight, 

 its far-carrying nasal call notes, and its marked preference for the tops 

 of trees bordering on a clearing, all serve to bring the species to the atten- 

 tion of everyone who traverses its domain. 



In coloration and habits the Clark Nutcracker cannot be confused with 

 any other bird in the whole Yosemite avifauna. The adults and young, 

 both sexes, are all practically alike. The body is pale gray; the wings 

 are black, each with a large white patch on the hind margin (technically 

 speaking, on the tips of the secondary wing feathers) ; and the tail is black 

 centrally and broadly pure white on each side. The ' face, ' or area around 

 bill and eyes, is whitish in adults, but this can be seen only at close range. 

 In the fresh plumage, which is acquired by a complete molt in July or 

 early August, earlier than in most birds, the body coloration is clear light 

 gray. This color, however, quickly becomes soiled by contact with pitch. 

 The bird's daily round of foraging after seeds in cones either in the trees 

 or on the ground beneath soon results in its plumage acquiring a brownish 

 overtone, and this becomes deeper as the winter comes on. In early summer, 

 before the molt, the old birds present a decidedly bedraggled appearance, 

 the feathers on the top of the head and the back being, in some individuals, 

 literally worn to shreds. 



In bodily configuration the Clark Nutcracker shows stout build; its 

 wings are proportionately longer than those of blue jays, and its tail 

 is shorter. These features may be related directly to its life in more open 

 situations. The bill is long, thick at base, tapering to a pointed tip 

 (fig, 49), The bill of the nutcracker thus resembles in form that of the 

 Pifion Jay rather than that of any of the true blue jays. 



The nesting season of the Clark Nutcracker commences so early in the 

 spring that few naturalists anywhere, and none in California so far as we 

 know, have seen the eggs of the species. Such information as we have been 

 able to assemble on this matter for the Yosemite region is rather meager and 

 of an indirect nature. The 'evidence' is as follows. Near Williams Butte 



