138 



OENITHOLOGI8T 



[Vol. 15-No. 9 



Nesting of the Arizona Jay. 



Aphelocoma sieherii arizon(e, the Arizona 

 Jay, is one of the most characteristic birds of 

 southern Arizona. In the Huachuca moun- 

 tains it is a common resident, frequenting the 

 live oalc groves of tlie can jus and footliills at 

 from 4,000 to 7,000 feet elevation, where they 

 remain in flocks or bands of lialf a dozen or 

 more during tlie entire year. 



They are very noisy birds, often making 

 themselves unwelcome visitors by surround- 

 ing any traveller and screaming angrily about 

 hiin, and following along for half a mile. 



To any one hunting deer or such game they 

 are a great disadvantage, often warning off 

 the game before it can be seen. 



The nesting season commences by the 

 middle of March and continues until the end 

 of May. I have found fresh eggs during tlie 

 entire period, althougli most of the eggs are 

 laid by the last of April. In the cool caflons 

 the nesting takes place later than in the 

 foothills. 



I have found the nests of this species almost 

 invariably placed in oaks, either the largest 

 rugged trees, or the saplings of a second 

 growth. Tliey vary in height from six to 

 thirty feet, and are placed either on liorizontal 

 limbs or in the upright crotches, in the tops of 

 the trees, and I have found them rarely in the 

 small twigs at the extreme end of a branch. 



The nests are all very mucli alike and can be 

 told at a glance from the nest of any other bird 

 I have evtM' examined. The platform is invari- 

 ably a large mass of sticks and oak twigs piled 

 up loosely, and held together only by their 

 crooked shape. Upon this is built the nest 

 proper, which is a somewhat flat structure of 

 line brown or yellow roots and a lining of hair 

 hom the mane or tail of a horse. Some of these 

 nests are very thin, and when removed tliey 

 can be seen through; others are nearly an inch 

 thick and very compactly built. Occasionally 

 a nest is made of a peculiar black root, and 

 when also lined with black hair it looks 

 pecvdiar. 



During tlie season of 1890, 1 collected sev- 

 eral dozen of these nests and over a hundred 

 eggs. The variation which these show is 

 remarkable for a plain egg. I have fouiul from 

 two to six eggs as a full set, the usual number 

 being three, four, or five in about equal num- 

 bers. Their color is deep greenish-blue, from 

 the shade of a Robin's egg to nearly the color 

 of a Catbird's, although not so glossy as the 

 latter. In most of these eggs there are faint 



bluish spots apparently but a few shades 

 lighter than the ground color. These spots are 

 constant in a large series, although sometimes 

 very faint and sparse, and almost invisible. 

 They appear to be scattered uniformly over 

 the eggs with perhaps a trifle more at the huger 

 end. Of the large series of specimens before 

 me the average measurements are 1.21 x .89. 

 The largest egg measures 1.27 x .95. The small- 

 est specimen 1.08 x .83. Two extreme in shape 

 measure 1.21 x .80 and 1.06 x .90. The shape 

 varies from oval to pear shape and sometimes 

 almost spherical. The typical shape will 

 about correspond with that of our eastern 

 Jay's eggs. O. C. Poling. 



Fort Huachuca, Arizona. 



Horned Lark or Prairie Horned 

 Lark, Which is It? 



There seems to be a wide difference of opin- 

 ion in regard to the birds with the above 

 heading. Most of our eminent writers on the 

 subject claim that the bird found in this part 

 of Michigan is the Prairie Horned Lark, while 

 the majority of our local ornithologists, who 

 have made the bird found here a careful study, 

 claim it to be the true Horned Lark {Olocorix 

 alpestri.'i) and have marked their specimens of 

 birds and eggs in their cabinets as such. Mr. 

 Davie in his valuable work {Nestii and Eggs of 

 North American UircZ.s' — Tliird Edition) in 

 speaking of the Horned Lark {Otocoris alpes- 

 tris) says that, as there are a number of geo- 

 graphical varieties of the Horned Lark, the 

 greatest uncertainty has always attended tl.eir 

 identification even by experts, and the breed- 

 ing and winter ranges of the various sub- 

 species do not yet seem to be clearly defined, 

 in which he seems to be right. It is my opin- 

 ion that the variety found here, for we have 

 but one, is the true Horned Lark, fir one 

 thing is certain, that tlie variety that winteis 

 with us is the one found bleeding here early 

 in March, and if it is not the Horned Lark 

 then that variety never visits this part of 

 Michigan. I hoi)e that my ornithological 

 friends will pardon me for being so positive, 

 but as I have made this bird a careful study 

 for a number of years, and as I have Watched it 

 daily through the winter months and through 

 its early mating and nesting season I couhl 

 not help but be convinced that it is the Horned 

 Lark. Some of these birds must nest very 

 early for on March 27, 18SH), 1 found a yoi.ng 



