THE OOLOGIST. 



233 



■sprinkled about, but the former trees 

 are where the Jay iu question loves to 

 •frequent during the breediug season. 



The nest is usually placed in a tree re- 

 sembling the pitch pine (pinus rigida.) 

 though I am inclined to think that, like 

 their eastern relative the Blue Jay (Cya- 

 ■nocAUa cristata,) they not infrequently 

 build their nests in any of the other 

 . coniferous trees with which the coun- 

 try abounds. 



The distance of the nest from the 

 ground varies from twelve to twenty 

 ■feet, though, of course, there must be 

 .extremities both ways. 



The eggs are usually laid about the 

 iast week in May, and are usually four 

 or five in number. I think that a des- 

 cription of a nest and set of eggs taken 

 May 31, 1892, will furnish sufficient par- 

 ticulars lo suit the purpose of this arti. 

 • cle. 



The nest was placed twenty feet from 

 Ihe ground in a pitch pine and is a typi- 

 cal one of the species, It is (with the 

 ■exception of the general nature of the 

 material used) altogether different from 

 that of the Blue Jay, being at least three 

 >times as bulky as an average nest of the 

 latter bird. 



The material consists outwardly of a 

 substantial lair of twigs of the quaking 

 asp and has a lining from an inch in 

 thickness in some places to an inch and 

 a half in others, composed entirely of 

 rootlets which are very neatly inter- 

 woven so as to form a hollow in which 

 ito place the eggs. Despite this bulk of 

 material it would, with the exception of 

 the lining, almost instantly fall to pieces 

 when taken out of the tree, if not held 

 together in some manner. Externally 

 it measures 8 inches in diameter x 3£ 

 inches in depth; the cavity is 3£ inches 

 in djameter x \\ inches in depth. 



The eggs which were four iu number 

 ( one was unfortunately broken,) do not 

 at all resemble those of the Blue Jay. 

 They are of a light blue ground color 

 having very faint tinge of greenish, 



They are spotted at the larger ends quite 

 thickly with greenish brown, having 

 spots and dots of the same color scat- 

 tered thickly over the entire surface. 

 The peculiarity in the markings is that 

 very few of the spots are larger than 

 the head of an ordinary pin This is 

 veiw different from the eggs of the east- 

 ern bird which, as is well known, have 

 large spots and often blotches all over 

 the egg. The dimensions of the four 

 eggs iu this nest are subject to slight 

 variation. The largest egg measures 

 1.20x.86 inches; the smallest 1.15x.82 

 inches. 



To make sure of the identity the par- 

 ent bird was shot and is at this moment 

 posing before me in company with a 

 Blue Jay from Massachusetts. 



This handsome species seems to be 

 about as thoroughly detested by the 

 ranchmen who keep hens as are the 

 hawks, for they can easily outclass a 

 hen at eating her corn and the only way 

 to prevent their doing so is to watch the 

 hens or shoot the Jays and the latter 

 method is usually adopted, when pos- 

 sible, as the surest. They are bolder 

 than any other bird I know of and have 

 fully as much intelligence. 



My first call at my next-door-neigh- 

 bor's cabin was about as amusing as 

 anything I have experienced in the or- 

 nithological line. I was sitting at the 

 door of the cabin watching him feed his 

 chickens and he had no sooner finished 

 and come back to me, when three or 

 four Jays swooped from the neighbor- 

 ing trees into the midst of the chicken's 

 food. 



I innocently asked him if he thought 

 the chickens would get their shai*e. At 

 this he turned round, and seeing them, 

 he expressed his opinion of them in re- 

 marks more forcible than polite and 

 ended by saying that, although he had 

 shot more than he could shake a stick 

 at, there was always just the same num- 

 ber at each meal. I noticed that these 

 particular birds were always off like 

 the wind the iu'staut the door latch rat- 

 tled, 



