388 MFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



more southern portion of its range nidification begins in March, and somewhat 

 later farther north. The nest is a bulky affair. One now before me, sent by 

 Mr. MacFarlane, and collected near the Hudson Bay Post, at Pelican Narrows, 

 in latitude 50° 30', contained four eggs when taken, in March, 1891. It was 

 placed in a small spruce tree, near the trunk, about 9 feet from the ground. It 

 is composed of small twigs, plant fibers, willow bark, and quite a mass of the 

 down and catkins of the cottonwood or aspen, this material constituting fully 

 one-half of the nest. The inner cup is lined with finer material of the same 

 kind, and Jays' feathers, which are easily recognized by their fluffy appearance. 

 The nest is about 8 inches wide by 4 inches deep ; the inner cavity being 

 about 3 inches in width by 2£ inches in depth. A nest taken near Ashland, 

 Aroostook County, Maine, is composed externally of bits of rotten wood, mixed 

 with tree moss, plant fibers, and catkins, and is lined with similar but finer 

 materials. This is a symmetrical, well-built structure, much neater than the 

 former, and measures 7 inches in outer diameter by 4 inches deep; the cavity 

 is 3 inches wide by 2 inches deep. 



The number of eggs laid, as far as known to me, is three or four, although 

 sets of five may sometimes be found. Their ground color is generally pale 

 gray, more rarely pearl gray. They are profusely flecked and spotted over the 

 entire surface with different shades of brown, slate gray, and lavender. Their 

 shape is ovate; the shell is smooth, close grained, and somewhat glossy. 



The average measurement of eighteen eggs in the United States National 

 Museum collection is 29.38 by 20.91 millimetres, or about 1.16 by 0.82 inches. 

 The largest egg measures 30.78 by 22.35 millimetres, or 1.21 by 0.88 inches; 

 the smallest, 26.42 by 20.32 millimetres, or 1.04 by 0.80 inches. 



The type specimens, Nos. 20376 and 20377 (PI. 3, Figs. 18 and 19), both 

 from sets of four eggs, Bendire collection, were taken in Colchester County, 

 Nova Scotia, on April 2 and 4, 1884, and represent the different styles of 

 markings found among the eggs of this species in the collection, as well as the 

 variation in size. 



155. Perisoreus canadensis capitalis Baird. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN JAY. 



Perisoreus canadensis var. capitalis "Baird MS.," Ridgway, Bulletin Essex Institute, V, 

 Nov., 1873, 193. 



(B — , O 2396, R 297a, C 362, U. 484a.) 



Geographical range : Rocky Mountain regions of the United States, from New 

 Mexico and Arizona north into British North America; west to eastern Oregon and 

 Idaho. 



The Rocky Mountain or White-headed Jay is a common resident of all the 

 higher ranges of the Rocky Mountain system in the United States, and occurs 

 also in the White Mountains of Arizona, which form about the southern limit of 



