in four nests of the common snowbird {J unco hy emails) in a single day. I found 

 these nests in an old abandoned lumber-road on the morning of June 20th; in 

 the afternoon, when I returned through the same path, every nest was depopu- 

 lated ; and a pair of these Jays were lurking in the trees, shouting defiance at us, 

 while surrounded by the afflicted snowbirds that were uttering their cries of 

 complaint and sorrow." 



The common call-note is not unlike that of our well-known blue jay, but in 

 addition, the Canada Jay has several other notes which are its own. Mr. Thomp- 

 son says that some of these are ''the melancholy sobs and wails which, sounding 

 so uncanny among the gloomy evergreens, have surrounded the bird with an 

 atmosphere of mythic interest. Almost the only musical sound that I have heard 

 it utter is a metallic 'chuck chuck/ not unlike that of the robin." 



While it is loquacious at all other times, this Jay, like the other members 

 of the family, during the breeding season dislikes publicity and is a silent and 

 retiring bird. Though it moves about upon the ground and in the trees with 

 ease and facility, it flies in a laborious manner by almost constant flapping of 

 the wings. 



The Canada Jay nests very early in the spring. Low temperature and the 

 presence of snow and ice does not deter it from building its nest, laying its eggs 

 and incubating them. Mr. Thompson says there is no doubt that ''one or the 

 other parents always remain with the eggs, but still it is difficult to see how they 

 can keep them from freezing when the surrounding air is chilled to thirty degrees 

 below zero." Mr. Dugmore has described its nest as "composed of twigs and 

 strips of bark, with a thick lining of moss and feathers, and it is placed in a fir 

 tree close to the trunk, at no very great distance from the ground." The down 

 and catkins of the cottonwood trees, and its own feathers are also used in the 

 construction of the walls of the nest and in the lining. 



Say what we will regarding the reprehensible habits of the Canada Jay, if 

 they were removed from the vast coniferous forests of the North, they would 

 be sorely missed by the hunters, trappers and lumbermen, whose companions 

 they are during many lonely hours in the midst of the deep snows of winter. 

 They are not migratory birds and are supposed to store a supply of food for 

 the barren time of winter. This would certainly seem necessary, for "four or 

 five fluffy little jays, that look as if they were dressed in gray fur, emerge from 

 the eggs before the spring sunshine has unbound the icy rivers or melted the 

 snowdrifts piled high around the evergreens." 



685 



