Page 307 480.1. Blue-eared Jay. Aphelocoma cyanotis. 482--484a--485. Range.--Interior of Mexico north to the southern boundary of Texas. The nesting habits of this species are the same as those of the others of the genus and the eggs are similar but the markings are generally more prominent and larger. Size 1.10 × .80. 480.2. Texas Jay. Aphelocoma texana. Range.--Southeastern Texas. It is not likely that the eggs of this species differ essentially from those of many of the others. 481. California Jay. Aphelocoma californica californica. Range.--Pacific coast of California and Washington. Bright bluish green. This is a very abundant species both about habitations and in low woodlands. They are very bold and familiar, stealing everything they may take a fancy to, and frequently robbing smaller birds of their eggs and young. They are said to be more tame and familiar than the eastern Blue Jay, thereby bringing their bad habits much more frequently to the attention of the masses. They nest most often in bushes or low trees, but not as a rule, far above the ground. Their eggs are a bright bluish green color, speckled and spotted with brownish and lavender. Size 1.10 × .80. 481a. Xantus's Jay. Aphelocoma californica hypoleuca. Range.--Lower California. The habits and nests and eggs of this lighter colored variety do not differ from those of the California Jay. 481b. Belding's Jay. Aphelocoma californica obscura. Range.--San Pedro Martir Mts. Lower California. A darker variety of the California Jay, whose nesting habits will not differ in any essential particular. 481.1. Santa Cruz Jay. Aphelocoma insularis. Range.--Santa Cruz Island, California. Greenish blue. This species is the largest and darkest colored bird of the genus Aphelocoma. It is said to be a very abundant species on the island from which it takes its name, and to have the habits and traits common to all the members of the Jay family. The nesting habits are the same as those of the others, but the eggs are slightly larger, averaging 1.15 × .85. Set of three in the collection of John Lewis Childs, taken by R. H. Beck on May 10, 1897. 482. Arizona Jay. Aphelocoma sieberi arizonæ. Range.--Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south into Mexico.





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 Green Jay. 482a. Couch's Jay. Aphelocoma sieberi couchi. Range.--Eastern Mexico, north to western Texas. 483. Green Jay. Xanthoura luxuosa glaucescens. Range.--Northeastern Mexico and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Grayish buff. This handsome species has a bright blue crown and patches under the eyes, the rest of the upper parts being greenish; throat and sides of head black, underparts greenish white. This gaudy and noisy bird has all the habits common to other Jays including that of robbing birds' nests. They build generally in tangled thickets or low bushes, placing their nests at a low elevation and making them of twigs, weeds, moss, etc., lined with fine rootlets. Their four or five eggs, which are laid during April or May, are grayish buff in color, spotted with various shades of brown and lavender gray. Size 1.20 × .85. 484. Canada Jay. Perisoreus canadensis canadensis. Range.--Southeastern British Provinces and the adjacent portions of the United States; west to the Rockies. Grayish. Canada Jay. This is the bird that is well known to hunters of "big game" by various names such as "Whiskey Jack", "Moose Bird", "Camp Robber", etc. During the winter months, owing to the scarcity of food, their thieving propensities are greatly enhanced and they remove everything from the camps, which looks as though it might be edible. Birds of this genus are smoky gray on the back and lighter below, shading to white on the throat; the forehead and part of the crown is white and the nape blackish. Their nests are placed at low elevations in bushes or fir trees, and are usually very different from any of the preceding Jays' nests. They are nearly as high as wide, and are made of small twigs, moss, catkins, weeds and feathers making a soft spongy mass which is placed in an upright crotch. The eggs are a yellowish gray color spotted and blotched with brown and grayish. Size 1.15 × .80. Data.--Innisfail, Alberta, March 12, 1903. Nest a beautiful structure of twigs, moss and feathers in a willow bush, 6 feet from the ground. The thermometer registered 32 below zero the day the eggs were taken. Collector, W. Blackwood.
Page 309 484a. Rocky Mountain Jay. Perisoreus canadensis capitalis. Range.--Rocky Mountains from Montana to Arizona. This variety has the whole crown white and only a small amount of blackish on the nape. Its nesting habits and eggs are precisely like those of the last.
NEST AND EGGS OF CANADA JAY SHOWING CONSTRUCTION. 484b. Alaska Jay. Perisoreus canadensis fumifrons. Range.--Alaska. A very similar bird to the Canada Jay but with the forehead yellowish or duller; the nests and eggs are like those of the others of the genus. 484c. Labrador Jay. Perisoreus canadensis nigricapillus. Range.--Labrador. This is a darker variety of the Canada Jay. Its eggs cannot be distinguished from those of any of the others of the genus. 485. Oregon Jay. Perisoreus obscurus obscurus. Range.--Mountain ranges from northern California to British Columbia. These birds are very similar to canadensis but have the whole underparts white. Like the Canada Jays they appear to be wholly fearless and pay little or no attention to the presence of mankind. Their nesting habits and eggs are the same as the preceding except that they have generally been found nesting near the tops of tall fir trees. Size of eggs, 1.05 × .80.





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YOUNG CROWS
Page 311 485a. Gray Jay. Perisoreus obscurus griseus. Range.--British Columbia to northern California, east of the coast ranges. This bird is said to be larger and grayer than the preceding. 486. Raven. Corvus corax sinuatus. Range.--North America west of the Rockies and from British Columbia southward. Pale greenish white. The Raven is like a very large Crow, length 24 inches, but has the feathers on the neck lengthened and stiffened. Their habits are similar to those of the Crow, but more dignified, and they remain mated for life. Besides grasshoppers and worms, they feed largely upon animal matter such as lizards, shell fish, frogs, eggs and young of birds, and carrion. They nest on ledges of high inaccessible cliffs or the tops of tall trees, making large nests of sticks lined with smaller ones and hair or wool; the eggs are laid in April or May, number from four to seven, and are light greenish in color, blotched with umber and drab. Size 1.95 × 1.25. 486a. Northern Raven. Corvus corax principalis. Range.--Eastern North America chiefly north of the United States and northwest to Alaska; south on some of the higher ranges to Georgia. This variety is like the last but is larger. They are not nearly as abundant as the western form and are very rare within the United States. A few pairs still breed on some of the rocky islands off the coast of Maine; more off New Brunswick and Newfoundland, and they are quite common on the cliffs of Labrador and Alaska. Their nesting habits and eggs are like those of the last. 487. White-necked Raven. Corvus cryptoleucus. Range.--Mexico and the border of the United States; north to eastern Kansas. Pale bluish green. This small Raven is of about the size of the Crow, and has the bases of the neck feathers white. They are very abundant in some localities, especially in southern Arizona. Their food consists chiefly of animal matter, the same as the large Ravens, and they are not nearly as shy, frequently feeding in camps upon refuse which is thrown out to them. They build at low elevations in any tree, but preferably in mesquites, making their nests of sticks and lining them with hair, leaves, bark, wool or anything soft. During June they lay from four to six pale bluish green eggs, generally sparingly spotted or scratched with dark brown and drab. Size 1.75 × 1.20.




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 American Crow. American Raven. 488. Crow. Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos. Range.--Whole of North America south of the Arctic Circle; most abundant in eastern United States; rare in many localities in the west. Greenish white. These birds, against which the hand of every farmer is uplifted, are very shy and cunning; as is well known, they nearly always post a sentinel in some tree top to keep watch while the rest of the flock is feeding in the field below. In the fall and winter, large numbers of them flock, and at night all roost in one piece of woods; some of the "crow roosts" are of vast extent and contain thousands of individuals. Bluish white. Crows nest near the tops of large trees, preferably pines, either in woods or single trees in fields. Their nests are made of sticks and lined with rootlets, and the eggs, which are laid in April or May, range from four to seven in number, are a bluish or greenish white, sparingly or very densely speckled, spotted and blotched with various shades of brown and lilac. Size 1.60 × 1.15. 488a. Florida Crow. Corvus brachyrhynchos pascuus. Range.--Florida. This variety has a slightly shorter tail and wings than the last. 490. Fish Crow. Corvus ossifragus. Range.--Northwest coast from Oregon to Alaska. This small Crow which is but 16 inches in length, is found only on the coast, where they feed upon shell fish and offal. They nest, as do the Ravens, either on ledges or in tree tops. The eggs resemble those of the common Crow, but are smaller. Size 1.55 × 1.05. Bluish white. 489. Northwestern Crow. Corvus caurinus. Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, north in summer to Connecticut. From Virginia southward, this small Crow (length 16 inches) is more abundant on the coast than the common Crow which is often in company with this species. Their food consists of grain, berries, and animal matter. Their nesting habits are like those of the common Crow and the eggs are similar and have as great variations, but are smaller. Size 1.45 × 1.05.
Page 313 Clarke's Nutcracker. 491. Clarke's Nutcracker. Nucifraga columbiana. Range.--Mountains of western North America from Mexico to Alaska. Grayish blue. The Clarke Crow, as this bird is often known, is a common resident in most of its range. The adults are grayish with black wings and central tail feathers, the tips of the primaries and outer tail feathers being white. Their tail is short and their flight slow and somewhat undulating like that of some of the Woodpeckers. Their food consists of anything edible from seeds and larvæ in the winter to insects, berries, eggs and young birds at other seasons. In the spring they retire to the tops of ranges, nearly to the limit of trees, where they build their large nests of sticks, twigs, weeds, strips of bark, and fibres matted together so as to form a soft round ball with a deeply cupped interior; the nest is located at from ten to forty feet from the ground in pine trees and the eggs are laid early before the snow begins to leave. They are three in number, grayish in color with a greenish tinge and finely spotted over the whole surface with dark brown and lavender. Size 1.30 × .90. Data.--Salt Lake Co., Utah, April 25, 1900. Nest placed in pine 40 feet up on a horizontal branch, and not visible from below. The tree was at the upper edge of a pine forest at an altitude of about 3000 feet above Salt Lake City. The nest was discovered by seeing the parent fly into the tree; the next day a nest was found with three young nearly ready to fly. Collector, W. H. Parker. This set of three eggs is in the oological collection of Mr. C. W. Crandall. 492. Pinon Jay. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus. Bluish white. Range.--Western United States between the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, and from southern British Columbia to Arizona. This Crow-like Jay has a nearly uniform bluish plumage, and is found abundantly in the pine belts of its range. Their habits are similar to those of the Clarke Crow and the nests are similarly built at lower elevations in pines or junipers. During April or May they lay from three to five eggs of a bluish white color specked and spotted with brown. Size 1.20 × .85.




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 Starling. STARLINGS. Family STURNIDÆ 493. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris. Bluish green. Range.--A European species which has casually been taken in Greenland. It was liberated a number of years ago in Central Park, New York City, and has now become abundant there and is spreading slowly in all directions. They build their nests in all sorts of locations such as are used by the English Sparrow, wherever they can find a sufficiently large crevice or opening; less often they build their nests in trees, making them of straw, twigs and trash. They lay from four to six pale bluish green eggs; size 1.15 × .85. Two broods are reared in a season. BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. Family ICTERIDÆ 494. Bobolink. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Bobolink. Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from New Jersey north to Nova Scotia and Manitoba, and west to Utah and Nevada; winters in South America. Grayish white. This black and white bird is well known in the east, where his sweet, wild music, often uttered on the wing, is much admired. He sings all day long during May and June to his Sparrow-like mate, who is sitting on her nest concealed in the meadow grass. They are quite sociable birds and several pairs often nest in the same field, generally a damp meadow; the nests are hollows in the ground, lined with grass and frequently with the top slightly arched to conceal the eggs, which are grayish white, clouded, spotted and blotched with brownish, gray and lilac; size .84 × .62. They number from four to six and are laid in June. 495. Cowbird. Molothrus ater ater. Range.--North America from the Atlantic to eastern California, and from New Brunswick and Manitoba southward; winters from the southern half of the United States southward.
Page 315 White. Cowbird. These uncivilized members of the bird world build no nests for themselves, but slyly deposit their egg in the nest of some other bird from the size of a Robin down, probably the greater number being in Warblers and Sparrows nests; the eggs are hatched and the young cared for by the unfortunate birds upon which they are thrust. The eggs are white, spotted and speckled all over, more or less strongly with brown and yellowish brown; size .85 × .64. 495a. Dwarf Cowbird. Molothrus ater obscurus. Range.--Southwestern United States and Mexico, wintering south of our borders. This variety is like the last, but slightly smaller. The nesting habits of the two are identical and the eggs are indistinguishable. It is believed that Cowbirds do more damage to the smaller birds than all other dangers combined, as their young being larger and stronger either crowd or smother the other young or else starve them by getting most of the food brought to the nest. 496. Red-eyed Cowbird. Tangavius æneus involucratus. Light blue-green. Range.--Mexico; north in summer to the Lower Rio Grande in Texas. This parasite is larger than the Cowbird, being 9 inches long, and is glossy black with brassy reflections on the upper and under parts. They are abundant in southern Texas where they deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, apparently preferring those of Orioles; their eggs are pale bluish green, unmarked; size .90 × .70.
Yellow-headed Blackbird. 497. Yellow-headed Blackbird. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Range.--North America west of the Mississippi to eastern California, breeding from the southern parts of the United States north to British Columbia and Hudson Bay and wintering from southern United States downward. Grayish white. This large handsome Blackbird with bright yellow head and breast is very abundant in some parts of the west, where they nest in large colonies in sloughs and marshes, being especially abundant in the Dakotas and Manitoba. The nests are made of strips of rushes, skillfully woven together and attached to upright cane near the surface of the water. They lay from four to six eggs having a grayish white ground color, finely specked and spotted with shades of brown and gray; size 1.00 × .70.





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 Red-winged Blackbird. 498. Red-winged Blackbird. Agelaius phœniceus phœniceus. Range.--North America east of the Rockies and from the southern British Provinces southward to the Gulf; winter in southern United States. Bluish white. These birds are familiar to every frequenter of the country, in their range; too familiar to many, for the enormous flocks do considerable damage to grain fields in the fall. They also do a great amount of good at other seasons in the destruction of injurious insects and weed seed. They breed from April in the southern parts of their range to May and June in the northern, making their nests of grasses, woven and twisted together and placing them in bushes in swamps or over water, and sometimes on the ground in clumps of grass. Their eggs are from three to five in number, bluish white boldly spotted, clouded or lined with blackish brown and purplish. Size 1.00 × .70. The nests and eggs of the numerous sub-species are all precisely the same as those of this bird, so we will but enumerate the varieties and their range. To identify these varieties other than by their ranges will require micrometer calipers and the services of the men who separated them. 498a. Sonora Red-wing. Agelaius phœniceus sonoriensis. Range.--A slightly larger variety found in southern United States. 498b. Bahama Red-wing. Agelaius phœniceus bryanti. Range.--Bahamas and southern Florida. This species has a slightly longer bill. 498c. Florida Red-wing. Agelaius phœniceus floridanus. Range.--Florida and Gulf coast. A smaller species with a longer bill. 498d. Thick-billed Red-wing. Agelaius phœniceus fortis. Range.--Breeds in the interior of British America; in winter south through the Plains to southwestern United States. 498e. San Diego Red-wing. Agelaius Phœniceus neutralis. Range.--Great Basin between the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, from British Columbia to Mexico, wintering in the southern parts of its range. 498f. Northwestern Red-wing. Agelaius phœniceus caurinus. Range.--Pacific coast from California to British Columbia.