296 Birds of Colorado 
Description.—Adult—Head all round, back and under-parts smoky- 
grey, becoming a dirty yellowish-white on the nasal tufts and forehead ; 
upper tail-coverts, two middle rectrices and the wings black, with a 
metallic purplish gloss ; secondaries broadly tipped with white ; under 
tail-coverts and four pairs of outer rectrices white, fifth pair black and 
white ; iris brown, bill and legs black. Length 12-0; wing 7-80; tail 
4-90; culmen 1-5; tarsus 1:3. 
The female is slightly smaller—wing about 7:30. In summer the 
grey is rather paler and of a browner tinge; the young birds closely 
resemble the summer adults, but the black of the wings and tail has 
less gloss. 
Distribution.—A resident in the coniferous forest regions of western 
North America, from Alaska to Lower California and New Mexico. 
In Colorado the Nutcracker is found commonly through the moun- 
tainous western half of the State, at elevations of 7,000 to 12,000 feet, 
chiefly at 9,000 to 10,000 in summer and 7,000 to 9,000 feet in winter. 
It is a great wanderer, and has not infrequently been met with on the 
plains in winter (Burlington, January—Hoskins apud Cooke), and 
localities in western Kansas and Nebraska. On the other hand it 
wanders above timber line as high as 13,000 feet, especially in summer 
and early fall. 
Habits.—Clarke’s Nutcracker resembles in many ways 
the Rocky Mountain Jay in its habits, and shares with 
it the opprobrious name of Camp Robber. It is naturally 
shy and suspicious, but when not molested soon becomes 
tame, and frequents mountain camps and miners’ cabins 
for scraps and offal. In the fall they are generally met 
with in large flocks, which pursue their way noisily 
and busily through a grove of pifion or yellow pines, in 
search of the seeds which they extract with considerable 
skill from the cones, often hanging down below a branch 
for this purpose like a Chickadee. They have a Wood- 
pecker-like habit of sitting on a dead branch and 
hammering with their beaks; this is not to obtain 
insects, but to crack the pine nuts for their kernels; 
they also somewhat resemble Woodpeckers in their 
undulating flight. 
The Nutcracker breeds early, in fact long before the 
snow has disappeared. Dennis Gale obtained the 
