252 
83. Picicorvus columUanus, (Wils.).—Clarke’s Nutcracker. 
During the month of September, this curious bird was met with in great numbers, and, 
according to its usual habit, in large flocks in the high sierras, where it kept 
entirely among the yellow pines. These were hanging full of seeds, and to extract 
these from the cones was their chief, indeed their only, occupation. Their loud, shrill 
cries went echoing through the deep woods, as they flew about in noisy bands intent 
only on cramming their stomachs. The seeds are obtained with much ease and dex¬ 
terity, as the birds hang back downward, clinging to the ends of the branches or to 
the cones themselves. A seed fairly extracted, it is taken to a horizontal limb of some 
size, and there the covering shelled off by a few sharp blows with their heavy bills, 
when it is quickly disposed of. 
The Gymnokitta cyanocephala was not noted in any part of the region traversed by 
the Survey. Though recorded from California, it does not appear to be a common bird 
on the Pacific slope, and may perhaps be wanting in the more southern parts of the 
State. 
Ho. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
734 
d 
Tpi on Mountains C!fl,l ____............... 
Aug. 2 
H. W. Henskaw. 
89. Pica melanoleuca , (Linn.), var. nuttalli. —Yellow-billed Magpie. 
Pica nuttalli , Aud., Orn. Biog., iv, 1838,450, pi. 362.—Woodh., Sitgr., Exp. Zuni & Col. Riv., 1854, 
77.-Hewb., P. R. R. Rep., vi, 1857, 84.—Bd., B. N. A., 1858, 578.—Heerm., P. R. R Rep., x, 1859, 
pt. vi, 54.—Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 295. 
Pica melanoleuca var. nuttalli , Coues, Key K. A. B., 1872,164. 
Pica caudata var. nuttalli , B., B., & R., H. A. B., ii, 1874, 270. 
This is the form prevailing in all the region west of the Sierras. They inhabit the 
valleys, being rather partial to a rough broken surface, interspersed with groves of 
oaks. I saw many of their nests placed in these. Like their relative from the interior, 
anything edible suits their appetite, though, like them, flesh is preferred to almost 
everything else. They are thus, with the Ravens, very useful as scavengers, and, having 
found the body of a dead animal, never leave the vicinity till the bones and skin alone 
remain. In the Sierras proper we did not meet with these birds, but in various parts 
near the sea-coast they were very numerous. 
Ho. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Wing. 
Tail. 
Bill. 
Tarsus. 
32 
36 
134 
182 
183 
184 
185 
d jun. 
d )un. 
$ jun. 
9 jun. 
9 jun. 
cT jun. 
d jun. 
Santa Clara Yalley, Cal... 
rln _ __.... 
June 22 
June 22 
H. W. Henshaw. 
_do. 
7. 50 
7. 35 
9. 50 
8. 15 
1.27 
1.35 
1.38 
1.82 
SaritT. Rnrl^TrT, C!t,1 
.Tune 29 
_do. 
7.15 
8. 65 
1.21 
1. 79 
_ _rln _ __ 
July 5 
July 5 
July 5 
July 5 
_do. 
7. 30 
9. 50 
1. 32 
1.85 
_. do _... 
_do. 
7.15 
8. 30 
1.16 
1. 76 
Hr* 
.. .do. 
...do. 
90. Cyanura stelleri, (Gm.), var. frontalis, Ridgw.—Steller’s Jay; Blue-fronted Jay. 
Cyanocitta stelleri , Newb., P. R. R. Rep., vi, 1857, 85.—Bd., B. K. A., 1858, 581 (includes var. fron¬ 
talis.) —Xantus, Proc. Phila. Acad. Hat. Sci., 1859,192.—Coop. & Suckl., P. R. R. Rep., vol. 
xii, pt.ii, 1860, 215.—Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 298 (includes var. frontalis).— Coues, Key K. A. 
B., 1872, 165 (var. frontalis also).—Kelson, Proc. Boat. Soc. Hat. Hist., vol. xvii, 360 (Califor¬ 
nia).—Bendire, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. xviii, 1875,160 (Camp Harney, Oregon; 
probably var. frontalis). 
Cyanura stelleri var. frontalis, B., B., & R., K. A. B., ii, 1874, 279. 
This Jay is a common inhabitant of the mountains throughout California, rarely 
being seen in summer below 5,000 feet, and extending from about that point to the 
very limit of the timber-line. During the breeding-season, they separate into pairs, and 
are then very silent and retiring. After the broods are out and well on the wing, they 
begin their roving, independent life, and their enforced silence gives way to their more 
usual frame of mind, when noisy outpourings herald their presence in every direction. 
The bird is a true resident of the pine-woods, and from the pines is had no small part 
of its subsistence. 
