CROWS, MAGPIES AND JAYS 



79 



CALIFORNIA JAY (Aphelocoma califor- 

 nica californica) 



The "blue jay" of California is quite different 

 in appearance from the bird of the Central and 

 Eastern States that bears that name. The blue 

 is a different shade, there are no conspicuous 

 white patches on the wings, and the bird has no 

 crest on its head. He is one of the noisiest birds 

 in California and is thoroughly disliked by a con- 

 siderable portion of the people. But he is a very 

 vigorous character, alert, bold, prying, and at 

 times startling in his lusty shouts. These quali- 

 ties arrest the attention and many admire him. 

 Like all characters possessing strong person- 

 alities, he is both loved and hated. 



Some of his food habits have brought him into 

 disrepute, for undoubtedly he is an agency of 

 considerable destruction to the small birds of the 

 country. However, this loss seems to have been 

 balanced by a wise Providence, for when a bird's 

 eggs or its young are taken it will invariably lay 

 again; so California is very rich in bird life, 

 despite the fact that by eggs and by nestlings 

 it must help to feed the jay population. 



Mr. Mailliard, California ornithologist, relates 

 instances of this bird's destructiveness to garden 

 products. Of one case he wrote : "I remember 

 one spring when a patch of about an acre and a 

 half was sown with a mixture of peas and oats, 

 and the peas were pulled up as fast as sprouted, 

 by the jays, so that the crop consisted of oats 

 alone . . I shot over forty, one afternoon 



on this occasion, and a good many more on suc- 

 ceeding days, but they soon became so wary, that 

 it was impossible to get another shot after one 

 was killed — and still the crop was destroyed." 



It has remained for a woman, Irene Grosvenor 

 Wheelock, to present one of the most scathing 

 denunciations recorded of this jay. In part she 

 says : "He is one of the greatest trials a bird-lover 

 must encounter, and I know no reason why the 

 law should protect him to the destruction of our 

 beloved birds of song and beauty. Were he of 

 benefit to the farmer or to the fruit grower, no 

 word of dispraise would I offer ; but he not only 

 robs them, but also destroys annually hundreds of 

 feathered creatures which, living upon harmful 

 insects, would be of great assistance in preserv- 

 ing the crops. No hawk is more destructive to 

 small birds than he is. Ruthlessly he robs every 

 nest in his vicinity that is left unguarded long 

 enough for him to carry off the eggs or young. 

 Not content with this he pulls down and breaks 

 up the nest itself. Usually he prefers the newly 

 hatched babies to the raw albumen, and waits for 

 the incubation to be finished. I have seen him 

 sneaking around the nest of a pewee day after 

 day until the eggs hatched, when he at once made 

 a breakfast on the nestlings — in this case, 

 calmly disreigarding the cries of the poor little 

 mother. . . About the farms he is even a 



greater pest, eating the eggs and occasionally kill- 

 ing the newly hatched chicks." 



The California jay ranges the coast region of 

 California from San Francisco Bay to Mexico 

 and to the eastern base of the Coast Ranges. 

 There are other races of this species which are 

 discussed under "Woodhouse's jay." 



SANTA CRUZ JAY (Aphelocoma insu- 

 laris) 



There is only one of the Santa Barbara Island 

 group on which any jay is found. This is the 

 island of Santa Cruz, and since the jay which 

 lives here is found nowhere else in the world, it 

 has been very appropriately named the Santa 

 Cruz jay. 



The island home of this species lies in the 

 Pacific Ocean 20 miles or a little more from 

 the coast of Ventura County, California. Santa 

 Cruz is about 22 miles in length. Although it is 

 a rocky region, abundant soil is available, so 

 trees, shrubs, and gardens thrive without diffi- 

 culty. The jay is unquestionably its most com- 

 mon bird. 



Few species have such a restricted range within 

 which every individual of its tribe is confined. 

 They have done well in their island home, and 

 are larger than their relatives in Ventura and 

 Santa Barbara counties, visible over the sea to 

 the eastward. The length of the Santa Cruz jay 

 is more than 13 inches, thus exceeding by an 

 inch or two the measurement of its mainland 

 cousin, the noisy and none too popular A. cali- 

 fornica. 



Bulky nests are built among the limbs of trees 

 or bushes only a few yards from the ground, and 

 the three to five lightly spotted eggs are deposited 

 usually in March or in April. 



This bird was first discovered to science in 

 June, 1875, by the naturalist H. W. Henshaw. 

 Since then other scientific men have visited Santa 

 Cruz for the specific purpose of making its ac- 

 quaintance. One such student was W. L. Daw- 

 son and regarding the bird and its environment, 

 he wrote : 



"This gem of the islands belongs to him by 

 unquestioned title, and he has no need to defend 

 his claim by frantic protest or scurrilous abuse. 



"This demure quality shows itself to best ad- 

 vantage when his nest is threatened, for it is 

 then, if ever, that a bird's soul is tried. Yet I 

 have spent an hour beside a nest of jay babies 

 with never a word of protest from the closely 

 attendant parents, beyond a mellow and almost 

 inaudible choop choop — this and the sound of 

 pecking on tree limbs, for even this gentle bird 

 employs the familiar corvine device for reliev- 

 ing surcharged feelings. But this jay is capable 

 of vigorous expression, and the variety and sug- 

 gestive affinity of its note are worth considering. 



"There is first, the Aphelocomine scolding cry 

 of common use, but this is fuller, rounder, and 

 much less than harsh. Then there is a djay, 

 djay note which distinctly recalls that of Cyano- 

 citta stelleri. Lastly this note is so modified and 

 accelerated as to strikingly simulate the rickety 

 rack rack or shack, shack, shack, shack of the 

 magpies. I know the magpie's voice better than 

 the baying of a hound, but I have leaped to my 

 feet and reached for the glasses at this jack, jack 

 call before realizing that there are no magpies 

 on Santa Cruz Island." 



Little has been recorded of the feeding habits 

 of this bird, but, in common with other jays, it is 

 known to eat nuts, insects, and eggs. 



