The Gray Jays 



THE "Camp-Robber" appears promptly as interested neighbor and 

 smell-feast before all who invade the precincts of the mountains. The 

 hunter, the trapper, the prospector, the timber cruiser, the mere camper- 

 out, all know him, 

 and they speak well 

 or ill of him accord- 

 ing to their kind. 

 The Gray Jay ap- 

 pears to have for- 

 sworn the craftiness 

 of his race, and he 

 wins by an exhibi- 

 tion of artless sim- 

 plicity, rather than 

 by wiles. The bird 

 is mildly curious and 

 hungry — oh, very 

 hungry — but this 

 is Arcadia, and the 

 shepherd draws 

 nigh with never a 

 doubt of his wel- 

 come. There is a 

 childlike insouci- 

 ance about the 

 way in which the 

 bird annexes a piece 

 of frizzled bacon, 

 humbly intended 

 for the man. 

 " 'Shoo,' did you 

 say ? Why, what 

 do you mean? 

 Can't I have it?" 

 And the bird re- 

 tires before a fly- 

 ing chip, baffled and 

 injured by such a 



Taken in Humboldt County 



Photo by the A uthor 



IN THE REDWOODS 



OREGON JAYS ARE AMONG THE FEW BIRDS TO BE FOUND IN THE DEPTHS OF THESE FORESTS 



manifest token of 



ill-breeding. He complains mildly to his fellows. They discuss the 

 question in gentle whews; generously conclude you didn't mean it, and 

 return unabashed to the quest. 



73 



