1889.]  BENDIRE on the Nest and Eggs of Clarke’s Nutcracker. 235 
the help of their strong claws and sharp bill, admirably adapted 
to the purpose,—their bill of fare for the greater part of the year 
is quite varied, including berries of different species, insects of all 
kinds, as well as their larvz, butterflies, which they catch very 
dexterously on the wing, and especially grasshoppers and the 
large, wingless, blackish brown crickets (Azabus s¢mplex), which 
in some seasons are to be found overrunning large sections of 
country in countless numbers, devouring everything green and 
eatable in their way. These repulsive looking objects are in turn 
preyed on by numerous species of mammals, as well as birds and 
fishes, and even the Pah-Utes or Snakes, as well as the. various 
tribes of Digger Indians inhabiting the Great Basin, consider 
these selfsame crickets quite a delicacy, and yearly gather large 
quantities of them, which, after being roasted and dried, are 
stored away in mats for winter use. I have more than once ob- 
served flocks of Clarke’s Nutcrackers of considerable size scattered 
out over the sagebrush-covered mesas (table-lands) near the foot- 
hills of the Blue Mountains in Oregon, actively ana industriously 
engaged in catching these crickets, and apparently enjoying them. 
At such times they are especially noisy, calling each other con- 
stantly, and having a jolly good time generally. 
The stomachs of all the nestlings examined by me, however, 
contained only an oily cream-colored pasty mass, composed ex- 
clusively of the hulled seeds of the pine or other conifers, easily 
recognized by its not unpleasant odor, and this seems to be the 
only food they are fed with while in the nest. 
Picicorvus columbianus, while occasionally rather tame and 
unsuspicious, and an inquisitive bird at all times, is usually 
shy and not easily approached within shooting distance. Now 
and then I have seen an individual, bolder than the rest, alight 
amongst my chickens in the backyard and feed with them, but 
such occurrences are rather rare and infrequent. In the summer 
they spend considerable of their time on the ground in search of 
food. To the hunters and trappers in Oregon the bird is known 
under various names, such as Meatbird, Moosebird, and Camp- 
robber, but the same names are equally applied to the Oregon 
Jay (Pertsoreus canadensis obscurus), which has much the same 
habits. In winter the two species are often found associated to- 
gether. At Fort Harney, Oregon, the breeding range of Clarke’s 
Nutcracker extends as low down as 5200 feet altitude, and I am 
