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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



CANADA JAY (Perisoreus canadensis) 



One winter day I followed for a time a bear 

 trail which wandered here and there through the 

 snow among the ridges flanking a forested moun- 

 tain. This was in the Adirondacks of northern 

 New York State. Wearied at length, I brushed 

 the snow from a log and sat down to enjoy the 

 sandwich I had brought from camp. The forest 

 was very still. There was no wind, and not one 

 living creature had I seen or heard since leaving 

 camp that morning. My only evidence that ani- 

 mal life existed in the country was that bear 

 spoor and some deer tracks I had crossed. 



Then suddenly two birds appeared. Neither 

 one was sixty feet away. They were a little less 

 than a foot in length, were gray in color, with 

 some white and a little black in the plumage. 

 Quietly they looked down from the limbs upon 

 me— or perhaps upon my fast-disappearing sand- 

 wich, which might have been of more interest to 

 them. Now and then one changed his position to 

 come a little nearer. They exhibited no alarm, 

 but rather a mild curiosity, mingled with re- 

 strained eagerness. Not a sound did they utter. 

 It was almost eerie to watch these birds in pan- 

 tomime, here in the white silence of the great for- 

 est. They remained until I departed, leaving on 

 the log some of the bread and a little meat as a 

 token of my appreciation of their visit. I had 

 seen at close range my first Canada jays. 



In later years I was to see them in their more 

 northern summer home. About logging camps, 

 or wherever man tarries for a time in the wilder- 

 ness, they make their appearance. I know of no 

 bird that is so bold. He will light on a low limb 

 and watch the kettle boil or the meat frying in 

 the pan. He will drop down and seize a piece of 

 bacon, raw or cooked. He will snatch a cracker 

 from the box inside the tent. He will peck at 

 the fresh meat hung up to cool. 



It is well to be careful of the articles one leaves 

 lying about, for "Whiskey Jack" is the famous 

 "camp robber" of the North. He will carry off 

 your matches, your pencil, your cigarette, or your 

 piece of chewing tobacco, although what he 

 wants with such things I cannot guess. He will 

 peck to pieces your candles or soap and carry 

 away in chunks the fish you catch. He visits 

 the trap line and takes the bait. He is aware of 

 the presence of hunters and comes at the sound 

 of the gun, knowing that when a moose or a deer 

 is killed great feasting is in store for himself 

 and his friends. There seems to be no end to the 

 mischief that "Jack" can make about a camp in 

 the wilderness. However, let us remember that 

 he does eat insects and, now and then,_ a mouse. 

 The Canada jay breeds from the limit of coni- 

 fers, from Labrador to British Columbia, and 

 southward to northern Minnesota, and to Maine. 

 Its nests are placed in trees and are composed 

 of twigs, plant fibers, bark, moss and other soft 

 materials. The bird lays from three to five 

 brownish spotted eggs. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN JAY (P. c. capi- 

 talis). This bird is very similar to P. c. cana- 

 densis. It breeds in the mountains from British 

 Columbia to South Dakota and New Mexico. 



ALASKA JAY (P. c. fumifrons). In- 

 habits the wooded parts of Alaska except the 

 southeastern coastal district. 



OREGON JAY (Perisoreus obscurus) 



As will readily be seen from the accompanying 

 drawings by Allan Brooks, the Oregon jay and 

 the Canada jay have certain marked resemblances 

 in figure and color. Like all the forms of the 

 genus Perisoreus, their bills are short, and they 

 remind one more of overgrown chickadees than 

 of the jays with which most people are familiar. 

 Also, they lack some of the sleek, smart appear- 

 ance characteristic of the typical jays. 



The species is an inhabitant of the coastal 

 area from southwestern British Columbia and 

 western Washington southward to Mendocino 

 County, California. The species obscurus is now 

 recognized as being composed of two subspecies, 

 the Oregon jay and the gray jay (P. o. griseus). 

 Since their ranges join and the two species look 

 so much alike, the student may have difficulty in 

 determining which bird he is observing, unless he 

 informs himself carefully as to the exact range 

 of each. The gray jay is found in southwestern 

 British Columbia, south-central Washington, and 

 Oregon through the Cascade Mountains to Cali- 

 fornia. The jays of this species seen in the fir 

 regions of the Warner Mountains and on Mt. 

 Shasta, for example, are gray jays. Those in- 

 habiting many of the heavy redwood forests are 

 Oregon jays. So far as general habits and ac- 

 tivities are concerned, they may be considered as 

 one bird. Early ornithologists regarded them all 

 as the Oregon jay. 



Major Bendire wrote that on the summit of the 

 Blue Mountains in Oregon he saw these birds at 

 an altitude of 6,500 feet. He and his companion 

 had stopped for lunch and, "While so engaged," 

 he said, "I heard several whistles in a large pine 

 close by, and these were answered from other 

 directions. Shortly after I saw one of these 

 birds in a little fir a few feet from where I was 

 eating my lunch. I threw him some scraps of 

 bread and meat, and he was by no means slow in 

 accepting the invitation to help himself. A few 

 minutes later three others made their appearance 

 and fed among our party with the utmost un- 

 concern and almost allowed themselves to be 

 touched." 



Many observers testify to the unusual tame- 

 ness of these jays. Mr. A. W. Anthony has 

 recorded that they are "utterly devoid of fear." 

 As an example of this pleasing characteristic, he 

 said : "While dressing deer in the thick timber I 

 have been almost covered with jays flying down 

 from the neighborhood trees. They would settle 

 on my back, head, or shoulders, tugging and pull- 

 ing at each loose sleeve of my coat, until one 

 would think that their sole obj ect was to help me 

 in all ways possible. At such times their only 

 note is a low, plaintive cry." 



All campers in this country know these jays, 

 for they constantly come about the camps look- 

 ing for food. "Camp robber" and "venison bird" 

 are names often applied to them. Although only 

 about the size of the robin, they are also called 

 "meat hawk" by some people. 



The nests are built in evergreens. They are 

 sufficiently substantial to stand the wear and tear 

 of domestic occupancy, and so serve well the pur- 

 pose for which they are made. The eggs are a 

 little more than an inch in length and are spotted. 



