AA Goss on Alaxhnilians Jay and Clarke's Crorv. [January 



lowered head and half-extended wings, utter their peculiar quer- 

 ulous cry. One nest contained five eggs, six contained four each, 

 and two three each ; both sets of three were partly incubated. 

 Two nests were taken May 5, five on the loth, and two on the 

 iith, 1879. The eggs are quite pointed at the small end. The 

 ground color is bluish white, splashed all over w'ith small spots of 

 dark brown, thickest at the large end. Thirteen eggs measure 

 respectivelv : i.igX-SS; i.2iX-93; 1.22 X -92; 1.25 X -91; 

 I.I7X-S7; i.i8X-S4; 1.17X.S5 ; i.2oX-S3 ; 1.17X.80; average. 

 1.19X.87. 



My friend, Mr. H. B. Bailey, has kindly sent me notes of a 

 set of four, taken for him in New Mexico, June 5, 1882. He 

 says : "My nest was in a pinon tree, ten feet from the ground. 

 The inside is composed wholly of grayish shreds of some vine 

 similar to grape-vine. The eggs are almost fac-similes of j'ours, 

 but have a slightl}^ lighter ground color. [His reference is to a 

 set received from me.] They were hard sat on." His eggs 

 measure i.2oX-S6; i.i9X-87; I.25X-93; i.i5X-87; average, 

 1.20X.88. 



The nest is easily seen, and I am surprised that so few have 

 been fomid. The bird is a restless wanderer, choosing the most 

 unfrequented places. It often changes its haunts, and mav be 

 plentv one year where it is scarcely found in another. Probably 

 the food supply has something to do with its movements. It is 

 gregarious, and partly so even in the breeding season. It is 

 locally, and very appropriately, called the "Piiion Bird," for its 

 home is in the pinon pines, and it is rarely seen far from them. 



Clarke's Crow is a common resident of the region described, 

 but has a higher range than Maximilian's Jay. I found it most 

 abundant in the mountain valleys, above the foot hills. In that 

 dry climate the trees on the sunny exposure of the valleys are 

 dwarfed, scattering, and interspersed wn'th thick bunches of 

 bushes, while the opposite side, looking northward, is covered 

 with a heavy growth of timber. It was in and around such tim- 

 ber that I found these birds, and there I looked diligentl}' for 

 their nests. Many times they showed great concern and watched 

 me closely, peering down and scolding from the thick foliage 

 overhead. I thought their nest must be near, and searched every- 

 where in the neighborhood, even climbing to the tops of high 

 ti-ees ; but I have no doubt now that their nests were across the 



