Читать книгу Life Histories of North American Jays, Crows, and Titmice - Arthur Cleveland Bent - Страница 36
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The long-crested jay is the representative of the species that is found in the southern Rocky Mountain region, from southern Wyoming and Utah southward throughout a large part of Mexico. It is described by Ridgway (1904) as “similar to C. s. annectens, but lighter colored, with white superciliary patch much larger (or else purer white), forehead more conspicuously streaked with bluish white, greater wing-coverts distinctly barred with black, and the deep black crest very strongly contrasted with the clear brownish gray (nearly mouse gray) of the back and scapulars; rump, upper tail-coverts, and under parts of body light glaucous-blue.”
Coues (1871) pays the following tribute to the long crest of this jay, from which it derives its name:
The imposing crest of this jay merits more than a passing allusion. * * * It grows to be two inches and a half long, and is composed of many slender feathers with loosened barbs. The longest ones grow from the crown, while shorter ones fill in from behind and before, to make an elegant pyramid when standing close together, or a bundle of plumes when shaken apart. * * * The crest can be raised or lowered, and opened or shut at pleasure; and its rapid movements, when the bird is excited, are highly expressive. The jay seems to be proud of his top-knot, and generally holds it pretty high, unless he happens to be on a birds’-nesting expedition, which I am sorry to say is not seldom, when he lowers his standard, and makes himself as small as possible, as he skulks silently about, looking, and no doubt feeling, like the thief that he is.
The haunts of the long-crested jay during the breeding season, at least, are in the coniferous forests of the mountains, ranging up to 10,000 or 11,000 feet among the pines. In the Huachuca Mountains, Ariz., in May, we found the long-crested jays very common from 6,000 feet upward. We frequently saw them about our cabin in Ramsey Canyon, evidently foraging for scraps in the little group of summer camps; this was far below the pine belt where the tree growth consisted mainly of sycamores, maples, walnuts, and other deciduous trees. But their main summer haunts were on the steep hillsides that rose abruptly from the sides of the canyon, where there was an open growth of large and small pines, and from there up to the pine-clad summit at 9,000 feet. H. S. Swarth (1904), referring to the same locality, says that “up to the middle of April they were most abundant in the oak regions and along the canyons from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, usually in flocks of a dozen or more; but after that time they gradually withdrew to the higher parts of the mountains to attend to their domestic duties.”
Fred M. Packard tells me that in Estes Park, Colo., this jay is a permanent resident, “most common in the upper Transition zone, not uncommon in the lower Canadian, and occasionally seen in the Hudsonian in late summer.”
Nesting.—The nesting habits of the long-crested jay are practically the same as those of the blue-fronted jay of the mountains of California. The only nest I have seen was found in the Huachuca Mountains, Ariz., on May 30, 1922; it was well up toward the summit, above Ramsey Canyon, and was placed near the end of a branch of a “bull pine,” 8 feet from the ground (pl. 13); it was the usual nest of sticks, reinforced with mud, and was lined with rootlets. My companion, Frank C. Willard, records in his notes three other nests found in the same region; one was 15 feet up in a small oak, another on a horizontal branch of a large fir tree, about 25 feet from the ground, and the third was between 50 and 60 feet above ground in the top of a pine tree. All these nests were at altitudes above 7,000 feet.
Bendire (1895) says that “their nests are usually placed in small bushy pines or other conifers, at no great distance from the ground, varying mostly from 8 to 15 feet.” But he mentions a nest, taken by Denis Gale in Boulder County, Colorado, that was “in a black willow, 9 feet from the ground, at an altitude of 5,500 feet.” In his description of a nest he says that “the inner lining consists mostly of small rootlets, in one instance considerable horsehair being intermixed, while in another the lining consists principally of grass and pine needles.”
Aiken and Warren (1914) tell of a Colorado nest that “was 6 feet from the ground in a Douglas’s fir sapling, only 2 inches in diameter at the base, and on a branch close to the stem of the tree. The outside diameter of the nest was about 10 inches, and it was 5 deep, the nest cavity being 4½ inches in diameter inside, by 3 deep.”
Eggs.—The long-crested jay lays three to six eggs, usually three or four, though five is not a rare number. These are practically indistinguishable from those of other races of the species. The measurements of 40 eggs average 31.1 by 22.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 34.5 by 22.9, 34.0 by 24.0, 27.9 by 21.6, and 28.8 by 21.2 millimeters.
Plumages.—The sequence of plumages and molts is the same as in other races of the species, but Mr. Swarth (1904) calls attention to some points in which the plumages seem to differ from those of stelleri. He says that in the young male in juvenal plumage, “there is some whitish on the chin, an indistinct whitish line over the eye, and the faintest suggestion of bluish white markings on the forehead. A juvenile female is essentially the same in coloration but lacks the whitish markings about the head.” Of the adults he says: “Specimens in fresh, unworn plumage have the upper parts of a decidedly bluish tinge, in marked contrast to the brown dorsum of late spring and summer birds.”
Food.—What has been written about the food of the blue-fronted jay will apply equally well to the long-crested. Clinton G. Abbott (1929) writes entertainingly of watching these jays at a feeding shelf: “Soft food would be gobbled on the shelf, but the roughly broken pieces of toast were invariably carried in the bill to a distance. Here, either on a branch or on the ground, the jay would place the morsel under one foot (the other foot sometimes also adding its grasp) and then with strong pecks would break off fragments. It is evident that this bird cannot swallow without raising its bill, and, also, its gullet must be surprisingly narrow. I have seen the upward jerk of the bill several times repeated, and each time the piece of toast was returned, to be whittled a little smaller, before finally disappearing out of sight.”
Of its feeding on the ground he says: “Hopping, hopping methodically the bird would seem to examine every square inch over which it passed. Sometimes the head would be held high and the gaze directed downward, the long crest almost bobbing forward; at other times the attitude would be more one of sneaking and peering, with head near the ground and crest drawn back. With incomprehensible intuition, a certain spot would be selected, and a hole dug with powerful strokes of the bill, each stroke accompanied by a side motion of the head. In this way the miniature mattock would make quite a little excavation (sometimes as deep as the bird’s bill was long) and something edible would be found, as the up-jerk of the bill would plainly show. * * * The bird’s bill is its constantly used tool. It turns over small stones with its bill and, especially, it scratches among dead leaves with its bill.”
Dr. Coues (1871) says that “in the mountains where the Long-crested lives, pine-seeds contribute in large part to his nourishment. I have often watched the bird hammering away at a cone, which sometimes he would wedge in a crotch, and sometimes hold with his feet, like a hawk with a mouse. Though most at home in the depths of the pines where the supply is pretty sure, he often strays into the adjoining patches of scrubby oak and juniper after the acorns and berries, or to pick a quarrel with Woodhouse’s jay, and frighten the sparrows.”
Dr. Walter P. Taylor tells me that in Texas these jays do considerable damage to strawberries.
Behavior.—In a general way the habits of the long-crested jay are similar to those of other members of the species, or of most other jays as well. Dr. Coues (1871) gives us a good sketch of jay character, as follows:
All the jays make their share of noise in the world; they fret and scold about trifles, quarrel over nothing, and keep everything in a ferment when they are about. The particular kind we are talking about is nowise behind his fellows in these respects; a stranger to modesty and forebearance, and the many gentle qualities that charm us in some little birds and endear them to us, he is a regular fillibuster, ready for any sort of adventure, that promises sport or spoil, even if spiced with danger. Sometimes he prowls about alone, but oftener has a band of choice spirits with him, who keep each other in countenance—for our jay is a coward at heart like other bullies—and share the plunder on the usual principle in such cases, of each taking all he can get. * * * But withal our jay has his good points, and I confess to a sneaking sort of regard for him. An elegant dashing fellow, of good presence if not good manners; a tough, wiry, independent creature, with sense enough to take precious good care of himself, as you would discover if you tried to get his skin.
Mr. Abbott (1929) was evidently impressed with his vigorous character, for he says: “In fact the word ‘vigorous’ aptly fits most of the activities of the Long-crested Jay. He will alight in a tree and hop up, up, up as though ascending the rungs of a ladder, from sheer energy. He wipes his bill on the branch with the utmost vigor. He loves to ‘flick’ his wings and tail. When he launches himself into flight from a small tree, he leaves it trembling with the force of his push-off. Even during the noonday siesta, when I have seen the jays resting like balls of blue in the branches on all sides, the head is never still; there is no hint of sleepiness.”
Winter.—Mr. Packard tells me that, in Estes Park, Colo., these jays spend the winter from the upper Transition Zone (9,000 feet) to as low as 5,000 feet. “During the winter these birds frequent the feeding stations and cabins of Estes Park village, where they obtain food to supplement their forage. They do not associate as closely with man as do the camp robbers, but can be induced to feed from a person’s hand.”
At Cragmore, near Colorado Springs, at an elevation of 6,300 feet, in January, Mr. Abbott (1929) found the long-crested jay “to be the tamest and most abundant bird inhabitant of the open, landscaped grounds of this institution. I have learned that these beautiful jays may commonly be seen in the parks of Colorado’s high-lying cities. * * * At Cragmore, they make themselves so thoroughly at home that they pay practically no attention to the passing motor-car or pedestrian, and settle as readily on buildings or electric wires as on the branches of trees. * * *
“Even when water is available, the Long-crested Jays seem to prefer to drink snow. I have seen one perch on a branch covered with soft snow and literally ‘guzzle’ the snow beside him, billful after billful. On the ground, too, I have watched them gobble far more fresh-fallen snow that [sic] seemed to be necessary. After thaws, when the snow remains only in frozen patches in sheltered spots, it is a different story. I have observed a jay at the edge of such a patch hammer away with all the energy of a woodpecker, raising his whole body with each stroke, in order to add strength to his efforts, and thus break off icy fragments, which he eagerly swallowed.”
