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REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 
popularly attributed to the New England crow, and it proved a 
matter to obtain specimens. However, what crows, no m 
know about taking care of themselves is very soon acquired, and a very little' 
will be found to go a long ways with them. Naturally the crow is no shyer than other 
larcre birds, and its extreme wariness at the East, instead of being an indication, as 
some writers are prone to construe it, of a natural trait, is simp y c ue o p •' , 
and to it alone. 
Picicorvus Bonaparte. 
P. cohmbianus (Wils.). Clarke’s Crow. 
A constant and abundant resident of the pineries. 
Gymnokitta Maximilian. 
G. cyanocephalus (Maxim.). Maximilian’s Jay. ._ ., „ » 
A numerous and constant resident of the low ranges of pmon hills. Alon much of 
our route from Northern California northward along the base of the Sierra and Cascade 
Ranges this lay was entirely absent, the nature of the country being uusuited to its 
peculiar economy. At certain points in the Des Chutes Basin, however, it was notice* 
in great numbers. Here they were feeding upon a purple berry, the source of which 
I could not ascertain, but of which their crops were full, as well, too, upon the seeds 
of the yellow pine. ^ „ , . . 
I am indebted to my frieud Mr. H. G. Parker, of Carson, Nev., for an account of 
the nesting habits of this jay in his neighborhood. He informs me that late in March 
thousands breed upon the pinon hills, the colonies consisting of a variable number of 
pairs; occasionally isolated nests are found,but this appears to be rather exceptional. 
Eggs were taken April 10. . _ 
The single nest he has sent for examination shows an unexpected degree ot taste and 
skill in the arrangement of the material, which is drawn very largely from the pinons. 
An external base of twigs, which appear to have been broken oft from the ends of the 
branches, affords firm support for the nest proper, which is a compact, deeply hollow ed 
cup, made of strips and shreds of bark from the sage bush. Finer strippings of the 
same with a few straws complete the lining. 
The nest is usually placed near the top of the tree, sometimes near the extremities 
of the branches, occasionally close to the trunk. In auy event it is but a few feet 
from the ground, for the pinon rarely indeed attains a height of twenty feet. 
The coloration of the eggs is very peculiar, aud they are unlike those of any other 
jay that I have ever seen. They are greenish-white, marked with numerous spots 
of brown and purple. As usual, this latter tint is due to the overlaying crust of shell, 
and is not, strictly speaking, a normal color. The markings are thickest at the greater 
ends, and tend towards aggregation in circles. A set of four eggs measure (1.27X.87) 2 , 
1.27 X. 88, 1.27 x.87. 
Pica Vieillot. 
P. melanoleuca huclsonica (Sab.). Magpie. 
In the settled portions of Nevada and Eastern California of slight elevation, and 
especially in the wooded tracts that mark the courses of the streams, the magpie is a 
constant resident, and one which, from its size and general conspicuousness, is not liable 
to be overlooked. The thickets along the Carson River serve as favorite breeding 
grounds for great numbers of this species; in fact, I have never seen it more abundant 
than here. 
As noisy and as easily irritated into vociferous demonstration as is the magpie under 
ordinary circumstances, no sooner has the breeding season fairly begun than, under 
influence of the new feelings and emotions that have sprung into existence, our magpie 
seems to lose its voice, and, from being one of the most garrulous of the feathered 
community, subsides into a very quiet and matter-of-fact sort of individual, as if per¬ 
fectly aware of the danger its usual boisterousness is likely to bring upon its home. 
To prove that this quiet demeanor is hut a cloak assumed for a season, in obedience 
to an instinctive apprehension of danger, it is only necessary to approach with too 
curious eyes the nest of one of a community of pairs, especially if it chance to con¬ 
tain young. Under such circumstances the intruder will find himself the target for 
imprecations aud anathemas, delivered with such unction and effect from a dozen 
angry throats, that he will probably be glad to finish his investigations in a hurry and 
retire from the ground. In such a strait the pairs make common cause, and their 
audacity is in strong contrast to their usual wariness. 
In the neighborhood of Carson every thicket of sufficient density to screen its bulky 
nest contains one, oftener several, of the structures, that are so characteristic as to 
at once proclaim their ownershio. 
