The Piny on Jay 



Range in California. — "Common resident locally of arid Upper Sonoran and 

 Transition, chiefly along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada and ranges of southern 

 California, and on the desert ranges of the Inyo district. Its permanent habitat is 

 closely coincident with the presence of the pinyon (Pinus monophylla) and juniper 

 {Juniperus occidental is)" (Grinnell). Also indulges in extraordinary wanderings in 

 fall and winter. Has occurred thus at Pasadena (Gaylord), Santa Barbara (Dawson). 

 Pacific Grove (J. Mailliard), Berkeley (J. Grinnell), and even Eureka (Grinnell). 



Authorities. — Feilner (Gymnokitta cyanocephala), Ann. Rep. Smithsonian 

 Inst, for 1864 (1865), p. 427 (habits); Fisher, A. K., N. Am. Fauna, no. 7, 1893, 

 pp. 72-73 (range; food) ;Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, vol. ii.. 1895, pp. 424-426, 

 pi. iii., (figs. 24, 25) (habits, nest and eggs); Willett, Pac. Coast Avifauna, no. 7, 1912, p. 

 69 (status in s. Calif.); van Rossem and Pierce, Condor, vol. xvii., 1915, p. 164. 



THE RANGE of the Pinyon Jay is normally coextensive with that 

 of the pinyon {Pinus monophylla) plus that of the juniper {Juniperus 

 occidentalis) ; hence, it is chiefly confined in California to the eastern 

 slopes of the Sierras and the desert ranges of Riverside, San Bernardino 

 and Inyo counties. The bird is, however, a great wanderer, and sporadic 

 occurrences have been recorded from several of the coastal counties, 

 stretching from San Diego clear to Humboldt. The Santa Barbara 

 record was made on October 9th, 1914, when a flock of about two hundred 

 birds flew westward over town at a height of about half a mile. They 

 suggested Crows both in voice and appearance; but the "caws" were 

 shorter, sharper, and thinner, and the wing-action more rapid. 



Grinnell encountered this species commonly at several points in the 

 San Bernardino Mountains, 1 and noted its relative indifference to the 

 human presence. The birds fed a good deal upon the ground, as well 

 as in the pine trees; and on their foraging expeditions ventured far out 

 into the sage flats. "A large scattering flock may be absolutely silent 

 for minutes at a time, and then again indulge in a concert of nasal, mew- 

 ing calls, which can be heard a long ways. In their method of spreading 

 out over a sage flat, and working zigzag over the ground for insects, they 

 closely resemble Brewer Blackbirds, both in flight and general behavior." 

 Grinnell and Swarth also noted their ground-feeding habit in the San 

 Jacinto Mountains; 2 and Fisher found in a bird's crop sprouted pine 

 seeds, which he judged must have been gleaned from the ground. Cap- 

 tain Bendire had perhaps the widest acquaintance with this erratic, 

 desert-haunting species, and I record his testimony, even though it 

 both duplicates and contradicts portions of the foregoing: 



"Their call notes are quite variable; some of them are almost as 

 harsh as the 'chaar' of the Clarke's Nutcracker, others partake much of 

 the gabble of the Magpie, and still others resemble more those of the 

 Jays. A shrill, querulous 'peek, peek,' or 'whee, whee,' is their common 



i "The Biota of the San Bernardino Mountains," 1908, pp. 85. 86. p~ 



-"Birds and Mammals of San Jacinto," 1913, p. 263. ^y 



