The Nest and Eggs of Perisoreus canadensis. — The nest upon 
which the following description is based was found by Mr. P. S. Glasier 
on April 7th, 1881, twenty-three miles from Grand Falls, New Brunswick. 
It was built in a small fir tree with few branches, about ten feet from the 
ground. The tree was in ‘.‘mixed land"’ beside a brook, on the south side 
of a hill and near a lumber camp. From the men in the camp it was 
learned that the bird built the nest about the middle of March, and had 
been sitting for ten days. The parent bird was found on the nest, shot, 
and forwarded to me, so that there can be no doubt of identity. 
The nest is rather a large structure, between nine and ten inches in 
diameter and five inches ,deep. The cavity is slightly oval, measuring 
three and six-tenths by three and two-tenths, and is two inches deep. 
The bottom is formed of large pieces of rotten wood, which must have 
been torn from some neighboring stump, while the sides are supported by a 
scraggy structure of long twigs. The walls are formed of strips of bark and 
the subjacent rotten wood, apparently of cedars, cocoons, the remains of 
wasp nests, lichens and the like. All this material is closely packed to- 
gether, but not woven, so that were it not for the outer coat of twigs the 
whole would quickly fall apart. On one side, snarled up among the twigs, 
is a long piece of white twine, which shows that the neighboring camp 
was called upon to pay its tribute. The lining is quite thick, and offers a 
decided contrast to the walls. Rootlets of various kinds form the greater 
part, though grass and the remains of wasp nests form the floor. A few 
feathers are scattered throughout the structure and about as many more 
are to be found inside. By far the greater part of these are from the Jays 
themselves, and they might be regarded as of accidental occurrence were it 
not for a few from some species of Grouse. As a whole the nest is a sub- 
stantial structure, admirably adapted to keep the eggs and nestlings warm. 
The eggs were three in number, and are of about the same size and form 
as those of the Blue Jay. Their ground color is a light green of much the 
same color as the Field Sparrow’s egg. Two of the eggs are thickly cov- 
ered with fine spots of lavender and light brown, the spots being most 
abundant at the large end. The third has less lavender and more brown, 
while the spots are of considerable size and evenly distributed. — J. Amory 
Jeffries, Boston , Mass. BuU.N.0.0, 1 , July, 1882, p. I 8 I-/ 8 Z 
Canada Jay . — On a visit to a logging' 
camp in northwestern Maine in the Winter 
and Spring of ’80-’81, I found a nest of 
the Canada Jay, March 16th, with four 
nearly fresh eggs. The nest was in an 
evergreen, ten feet from the ground, and 
composed of moss and twigs on the out- 
side ; inside, like the Blue Jay’s, of fine 
roots. Found another March 20th, with 
four eggs ; took one and found it fresh ; 
the remaining three hatched in fifteen days. 
They are a noisy bird at certain times, 
rather odd in actions ; color of eggs, grey, 
marked with different shades of brown. — 
F. II. O; liehohoth. 3 fas a 
Ef&O. VH1. AUg. 1883. n a 
m-rlO. M- 
k va, A 
April 22. Was down to Porter’s Lake about 
sixteen miles from liere and took a nest of 
C anada Jay containing two eggs. Nest was 
built on limb of a low, thick, black spruce. 
The 9 was seen on and off nest ; eggs were 
slightly incubated. 
1921. Caftive Canada Jays. By Shelley W. 
p. 389- 
730. Canada Jay. By F. H. C[arpenter]. Ibid., p. 
of nests and eggs found in Northw estern Maine, March 
fju iWvu 1709. Jay , Pigeon , Camera. By Ebeem 
PjLn. . - Perisoreus canadensis and Fctofis(es migrant 
1274. Sight and Smell. By F. H. D. Vieth. 
78. — On the sense of sm ell in the Canatj a Jay- 
1708. Familiarity of the Gray Jay. By 
21, p. 432 . — Perisoreus canadensis. 
Birds of Dea.d River Region, Me. F. H, 0. 
01 . Perisoreus canadensis, (Canada Jay). Com- 
mon throughout the entire wilderness north of 
Dead River. I do not hesitate to ascribe it as 
breeding in this region, having shot in June 
young birds of the year, and found about the 
camps at Seven Ponds old nests which were with- 
out doubt constructed by this bird. It may not 
be out of place to mention two sets taken in the 
Parmachenee country. A set of three taken from 
a nest ten feet up in a spruce, March 28 , 1881 . 
This set bore some resemblance to those of the 
Blue Jay, but were lighter in color and more 
elongated. They are in the possession of my 
friend Dr. E. A. Patton of Minneapolis. The 
second set was taken three days later in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the former. It contained four 
eggs, which differed from the first set greatly in 
coloration, being light grey, with bright spots of 
brown scattered sparsely over the surface. The 
nest was bulky, and nearly every obtainable 
variety of moss, lichens, hair and feathers entered 
into its make up ; these were placed on a founda- 
tion of rather coarse twigs. 
The Canada Jay with its various uncomplimen- 
tary apcllations, shares with the rest of its family 
the contempt of students of bird-life. I may 
therefore be accused of rank heresy, when I state 
that the “Moose Bird,” as I love to call him, is my 
. first choice among all the birds of the Maine 
forests. He greets me, when I pitch camp for the 
night, with demonstrations of welcome, calls 
about him his particular chums and acts well his 
part at the preparing of the evening meal, and re- 
tires for the night in some adjacent evergreen that 
he may be convenient for the breakfast crumbs. 
He devours the “angle-worms” in my bait box, 
when fishing from a boat, and ransacks the camp 
provisions in search of “goodies” if left unguarded. 
He may be a thief, but his jovial companionship 
is beyond the price of his board bill, in the dark 
still forests he claims as his home. 
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