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Show 252 83. Picicorvus columbianus, ( 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 docks 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 dexterity, 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 cyanooephala 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. No. 734 Sex. < S Locality. Date. Aug. 2 Collector. H. W. Henshaw. 89. Pica melanoleuca, ( Linn.), var. nuitalli.- Yellow- billed Magpie. Pica nuttaUi, And., Orn. Biog., iv, 1838,450, pL 362.- Woodh., Sitgr., Exp. Zufii & Col. Riv., ISM, 77.- Newb., P . R R Rep., vi, 1857,84.- Bd., B. N. A., 1858,578.- Heerm., P. R. B Rep., x, 1859. pt vi, 54.- Ooop., B. Cat., i, 1870,295. Pica melanoleuca var. nuttalU, Cones, Key N. A. B., 1872,164. Pica caudata var. nuttalli, B., B., & R., N. A. B., ii, 1674,270. 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 viciuity 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. No. 32 36 134 189 183 184 18ft Sex. c? Jtin. d* lun. 9 Inn. X j D D * d jun. Cf JUD. Looality. Santa Clara Valley, Cal... . . . . . . do . . . . . . do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. do do do Date. June 22 June 22 June 29 July 5 July 5 July 5 July 5 Collector. H. W. Henshaw. do .... do .... do .... do . . . . do Wing. 7.50 7.35 7.15 7.30 7.15 Tail. 9.50 a is a 65 9.50 aso Bill. 1.27 1.35 1.21 1.32 1.16 Tarsus. 1.38 1.89 1.79 1.85 1.76 90. Cyanura " rtelleri, ( Gin.), var. frontalis, Ridgw.- Steller's Jay; Blue- fronted Jay. Cyanocxtta steUeri, Newb., P. R. R. Rep., vi, 1857,85- Bd., B. N. A., 1858,581 ( includes var. fnm> to/ w.)- Xantua, Proc. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1859,192.- Coop. & Suck!., P. R. R. Rep- vol. xii, pt, ii, 1860,215.- Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 298 ( includes var. frontalis).-- Cones, Key K. A. B., 1872,165 ( var. frontalis also).- Nelson. Proc Boat. Soo. Nat. Hist., vol. xvii, 360 ( California).- Bendire, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist, vol. xviii, 1875,160 ( Camp Harney, Oregon; probably var. frontalis). Cyanura stdleri var. frontalis, B., B., & R., N. 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 JU> amall part of its subsistence. |