392 LIFE HISTOEIES OF iTORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



157. Perisoreus canadensis nigricapillus Ridgway. 



LABRADOR JAY. 



Perisoreus canadensis nigricapillus Ridgway, Proceedings U. S. ISTational Museum, V, 

 1882, 15. 



(B — , — , E — , — , U 484p.) 



Geographical range: Coast regions of Labrador and tlie timbered i)ortions of the 

 interior; north to Hudson Strait. 



The Labrador Jay is a resident and breeds wherever found. For all the 

 knowledge we possess of the life history of this Jay we are principally indebted 

 to Mr. L. M. Turner, from whose copious manuscript notes on the "Birds of 

 Labrador and Ungava" I extract the most interesting portions: 



"This Jay is an abundant resident throughout the entire region wherever 

 timber is to be found. I observed the bird at. Rigolet, Davis Inlet, Georges 

 River, Whale River, Fort Chimo, and far in the interior. At certain seasons it is 

 more plentiful than at other-times ; after August it is very abundant until the next 

 May, and is then very scarce until the following September. Over one hundred 

 and thirty specimens were preserved, and among this number are birds of nearly 

 every month of the year. The breeding season could not be determined with 

 exactness, as it varies according to the exigencies of the weather. An adult 

 female procured April 9, 1883, contained ova of vai-ious sizes, the larger ones 

 measuring, respectively, 0.50, 0.44, and 0.33 inch in diameter; the largest ovum 

 was apparently ready to descend into the oviduct. * * * The Indians 

 assert that April is the month in which the Jays breed, and that only one brood is 

 reared each year. Young birds as large and actually heavier than adults were 

 obtained, fully feathered, from June 18 to 29. From May to September these 

 Jays are almost silent; not a sound will be heard in patches of wood frequented 

 by them, and as they certainly attempt to conceal themselves during this period, 

 it is extremely difficult to obtain specimens, for they sit so quietly among the 

 thick moss and branches of the trees that detection is only rarely possible. In 

 October they assume their winter plumage and become livelier, uttering frequent 

 whistles which sound exactly like those made by one boy who hails another; 

 in fact, I have often mistaken the sound for that of a person whistling to attract 

 my attention. Their power of mimicry is also good ; the notes of the Anierican 

 Rough-legged Hawk, for instance, are well imitated, as are also the clucking 

 sounds of the Catbird when it enters a thicket. 



"During the winter time these birds obtain a scanty "sup ply of food, and during 

 excessively severe periods they frequently are so reduced that a specimen will 

 no more than equal the weight of a Redpoll (Acantliis Unaria). They are 

 omnivorous; nothing comes amiss. I obtained a specimen which had the dried 

 bracts of a spruce cone in its beak. This mass was quite large and covered 

 with a viscid saliva. Inspection proved that this substance contained no larvae 

 which could have tempted the bird to swallow the mass through inability to tear 



