THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



55 



Notes on The Birds of Iowa. 



Okdek PASSRRES. 



Perching Birds. 



SuBOKDKK CLAMATORES. 



Songless Perching Birds. 



Family CORVID.E. 



Crows, Jays, Etc. 



Eleven of the members of the 

 Association, from as many coun- 

 ties, have reported on this family 

 in our state. It is represented by 

 three species; you will note that 

 Clarke's Nutcracker, reported bj- 

 Carl Fritz Henning-, is the first 

 record of this species being- found 

 in Iowa. The first on the list, 



477. Cyanocitta cristata. (Linn.) 



BLUE JAY. 



"Resident species. Common. 

 Nesting- in trees, both in deep 

 woods and in door-yards. Have 

 seen nests in door-yards in Forest 

 City, Clear Lake and Independ- 

 ence, Iowa. Sometimes when the 

 nests are built near houses, the 

 birds are considered a nuisance as 

 the}' will make a g-reat noise and 

 fly down at a person who g-oes 

 near the nest. The first set of 

 eg-gs is laid the last week of April 

 or first week of May and second 

 sets are found during- the whole 

 month of June. Three, four or 

 five egg-s constitute a set. The 



first sets, taken early in the sea- 

 son usually contain more eggs 

 than those taken later. The eg-g-s 

 show considerable variation in 

 shape and color. The usual color 

 is dull g-reenish with small brown- 

 ish and blackish spots, thoug-h I 

 have taken a set of four eggs with 

 a lig-ht brownish colored ground 

 color, resembling- eg-gs of the 

 White-rumped Shrike. A flock 

 of Blue Jays will frequently g-ath- 

 cr around an Owl and make a 

 g-reat noise, a habit which is also 

 possessed by the Crows." (R. M. 

 Anderson.) "This species is a 

 resident throug-hout the year, 

 thoug-h the larg-er number leave 

 in the fall, at which time they col- 

 lect in larg-e flocks. The nestings 

 season is May. The eg-gs are or- 

 dinarily five in number, and sub- 

 ject to great variation in shape 

 and color. The g-round color va- 

 ries from olive brown or drab to a 

 greenish tint, and the marking-s, 

 sometimes blotches and sometimes 

 small spots, rang-e throug-h man}- 

 shades of brown. An averag^e 

 size is l.lSx.83. The nest is 

 composed of twigs, roots, and 

 veg-etable fibers, lined with hair, 

 placed in bushes or trees from 

 10 to 30 feet up. The Blue Jay 

 does not stand as a representa- 

 tive of the avian world; he is 

 sly and cunning- to a degree 

 which excites our admiration, 

 while he is so cruel that by many 

 he is detested. I have seen him 

 destroying- eg-g-s in the nest of the 



