The California Jays 



seen passing from the hills down through the ravine to the orchard, while 

 a return line, each jay bearing a prune, was flying up the ravine to the 

 woods, where, probably, the fruit was secreted and left to rot. * * * 

 Several hours later the jays were still at work. " 



Grain is gleaned in a desultory fashion wherever it is exposed: but 

 it is only in early spring that real damage is done. Mr. Joseph Mailliard 1 

 observed their depredations closely at San Geronimo in Marin County, 

 and he concluded that it was the softness of peas or corn in the sprouted 

 state which appealed so strongly to the jay's taste. "I have had acres of 

 peas that were sown in the end of March, to be cut green for feed when 

 large enough, practically destroyed by these birds. * * I remem- 

 ber 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 jay, so that the crop consisted of oats alone. In this 

 instance the land was bordered by a growth of trees that made a fine 

 shelter, to which the birds could retreat when disturbed. I shot over 

 forty in one afternoon on this occasion, and a good many on succeeding 

 days, but they soon became so wary that it was impossible to get another 

 shot after one was killed — and yet the crop was destroyed." 



On another occasion it was some late grown oats they took to. 

 "They would dig away with their bills a little earth from the stalk where 

 it just showed through, get a good grip and pull. If the stalk broke they 

 would try the next one. When the whole plant came up by the roots 

 they would jump to the nearest lump of earth and pick the kernel out of 

 the husk, leaving husk, root and stalk lying on the lump. * * 

 Shooting one occasionally would cause them all to fly to the nearest 

 trees, but they would be at it again in a few minutes, with some on watch. " 



But your jay is no vegetarian. He annexes bugs and slugs as matter 

 of course, indulges a frog or a lizard now and then, and even aspires to 

 mice and shrews. His long suit, however, is the destruction of eggs and 

 young birds. This is his real function and raison d'etre. Beginning with 

 the modest fruit of the hen, or the equally humble quail, he works up 

 through successive deglutitive stages until he can boast a discriminating 

 preference for Phainopeplas' eggs, or Hutton Vireo babies. Black-headed 

 Grosbeaks' eggs are a staple in season, while Rufous-crowned Sparrows, 

 Bell Sparrows, California Purple Finches, and Lutescent Warblers pay 

 due toll to the epicurean fancy. 



But I am getting ahead of my story. Let us consider the case of the 

 poultry raiser first. Mr. Beal again 2 is expert witness for the prosecution: 

 "He is a persistent spy upon domestic fowls, and well knows the meaning 



'"The Condor," Vol. II., May. 1900, p. 5S. 



2 "Birds of California in Relation to the Fruit Industry," Part. II., p. 50, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture Biol. 

 Surv. Bull. No. 34, 1910. 



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