shout almost as quickly as will either one of Rainier’s jays. 
~The Nutcrackers are fond of the seed of cone-bearing 
trees, but they sometimes forget gentlemanly ways and pick — 
up anything that they can in their thieving bills or claws. 
- This crow-like bird, a little larger than a robin can be easily 
identified by a tourist to the mountains. Its gray body 
trimmed with black wings and tail, which are all bordered 
with white edges, is very much in evidence in many of the 
- meadows at any height below 6000 feet. He will sometimes 
_ investigate an open tent, in no way seeming to think him- — 
_ gelf unwelcome. 
An Oregon Jay is even worse for he will eat anything 
_ he can steal from an unlucky camper. Such a bad habit gives 
this bird another name: the Camp Robber. Wherever its 
gray body (about the size of a robin) with its dark cap is 
geen, mischief lurks inside it. He will struggle with a pound 
- of butter or a side of bacon, and his frantic efforts to carry _ 
his prize away from its rightful owner may amuse even his 
- victim. Then his friendly air as he flies about a table may 
give him a chance to snatch a bit of hash or mush from the | 
_ very plate of the cook himself. | For ways that are wily and 
- deceptive he easily takes first place in birdland. | 
His habits were not at all like those of the pair of 
_ Varied Thrushes which had hidden their nest in the twisted 
- old hemlock that stood as sentinel above the men’s tent. If 
- anature student had not caught the elusive mysterious call 
as she stood knee-deep in the bells of heather and lupine 
_ blossoms she might have missed these fitting pirate « of the 
- mountain. 
: As it was, after Lover hours of smilie bn the owner — 
of the high-pitched, whimsical, one-toned whistle, her — 
: glasses helped her to locate the male bird as he slipped into — 
his own tree. Knowing the shy nature of this bird, and the 
- ease with which it will desert a bothered nest, she kept the © 
- secret of her discovery from the other campers. She 
- was rewarded by frequent olimpses of the pair which so — 
closely resemble the robin, and yet can so ‘easily be — 
481 
