426 LITE HI3T0ELES OF yOETH A3IEEICAX BIEDS. 



Ions "peeh, peeli." or "whee, whee." is their common call note. "Wlnle feeding 

 on the ground they keep up a constant chattering, which can be heard for cpiite 

 a distance, and in this way often betray then - whereabouts. 



The nt-sts are deep, bulky, and compactly built structures, nieasuring- 

 about 10 inches in outer diameter by 7 inches in height: the cup of the nest is 

 about 4 inches in diameter by 8 inches in depth. Exteriorly the nests are con- 

 structed of phion, sagebrush, or juniper twigs, and shreds of bark from the 

 same, while the inner lining consists of finer shreds of similar materials, plant 

 fibers, fine rootlets, and dry grass, all well woven together, the component parts 

 of the nest varying somewhat in different localities. The nests are usually 

 placed in forks or on horizontal linibs of pifion or juniper trees, generallv from 

 5 to 12 feet from the ground. They are rarely well hidden from view and 

 ordinarily can be seen for some distance. 



In the middle portions of their range nidification begins early in April and 

 possibly still earner farther south, while to the northward and at higher altitudes 

 it is protracted until the first week in May. From three to five eggs are laid to 

 a set. those numbering turn- being most often found. Incubation lasts about 

 sixteen days. The Phion Jays are close sitters and. like Clarke's Nutcracker, 

 are devoted parents. The young are aide to leave the nest hi about three 

 weeks, and may easily be distinguished by their somewhat duller plumbeous 

 blue color. Thev at once form in flocks and rove about from place to place in 

 search of food. 



The eggs of the Phion Jav are cmite variable in shape, ranging from ovate 

 and shoit ovate to elliptical ovate. The ground color is bluish-white, this being 

 covered all over with minute specks of different shades of brown, in some cases, 

 and larger spots and blotches in others, these being generallv heaviest about the 

 larger end. An occasional set is blotched heavily enough to nearly hide 

 the ground color, but this appears to be rarely the case. The shell of these 

 eggs is close grained, finelv granulated, slightly glossv, and much stronger than 

 that of the preceding- species. 



The average measurement of twentv-five egg*s in the United States National 

 Museum, collection is 30.11 by 22.18 millimetres, or about 1.19 by 0.87 inches. 

 The largest egg measures 31.75 by 23.37 millimetres, or 1.25 by 0.92 inches: 

 the smallest, 26.92 by 22.10 mil l imetres, or 1.06 by 0.87 inches. 



The type specimens, Nos. 21712 and 25315 (PL 3, Figs. 21 and 25). both 

 from sets of four eggs, from the Ealph collection, were taken near Fort Garland 

 and Canon City, Colorado, on May 10, 1879. and May 16, 1890, and represent 

 the fighter and darker colored phases found among the eggs of this species. 



