BLUE OR METALLIC BLUE 485 



ously twisted shape of the bill one would expect them 

 to have some trouble in carrying twigs to it, but they 

 manage very well. Instead of picking up from the 

 ground the twigs needed, they wisely prefer to pull them 

 from the tree, selecting brittle, dead limbs. In procur- 

 ing the fine rootlets with which the nest is made, their 

 awkward bill is an advantage. It is a great advantage, 

 also, in prying open the pine cones and dexterously ex- 

 tracting the seeds. In doing this they frequently hang, 

 head down, chickadee fashion, or climb over the cones 

 by means of beak and claws. It has been a question 

 how and on what the very young Crossbills are fed. Re- 

 gurgitation would seem to be impossible in their case. 

 Fortune has never favored me in watching a brood de- 

 velop, for in every instance the eggs were " collected," 

 either by a small boy or a squirrel, before they hatched. 



The only sounds I have ever heard a Crossbill utter are 

 the " kimp, kimp," always described in connection with 

 them, which sounds like the crackling of the cones, and 

 a twittering conversation early in the- morning when the 

 mate is on the nest. They are fond of water, and bathe 

 early and late. 



BLUE OK METALLIC ELITE CONSPICUOUS TN PLUMAGE 



478. STELLER JAY. — Ci/anocitta stelleri. 

 Family : The Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc. 



Length: 12.00-13.00. 



Adults : Head (including conspicuous crest), neck, and tack dull black ; 



wings and tail purplish blue, barred with black ; under parts blue. 

 Young: Similar to adults, but with duller' and less couspicuous 



markings. 



