. Birds of the Rockies . reos make war upon him whenever he comeswithin their breeding districts, and this would indicatethat they are only too well aware of his predatoryhabits. More than that, he has the sly and stealthymanners of the sneak-thief and the brigand. Of course,he is by no means an unmixed evil, for you will oftensee him leaping about on the lawns, capturing beetlesand worms which A\ould surely be injurious to vegeta-tion if allowed to live and multiply. There are other jays in the Rockies that deserveattention. The Rocky INlountain jay — Perisoneus can-adensis capitalis — is a b
. Birds of the Rockies . reos make war upon him whenever he comeswithin their breeding districts, and this would indicatethat they are only too well aware of his predatoryhabits. More than that, he has the sly and stealthymanners of the sneak-thief and the brigand. Of course,he is by no means an unmixed evil, for you will oftensee him leaping about on the lawns, capturing beetlesand worms which A\ould surely be injurious to vegeta-tion if allowed to live and multiply. There are other jays in the Rockies that deserveattention. The Rocky INlountain jay — Perisoneus can-adensis capitalis — is a bird of the higher altitudes, re- 152 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES iiiaining near the timber-line all the year round, bravingthe most rigorous weather and the fiercest mountainstorms durinj; the winter. Althou<;h not an attractivespecies, his hardiness invests him with not a little in-terest. One can imagine him seeking a covert in thedense pineries when a storm sweeps down from the bald. snow-mantledapproval ofyet able to. sunnnits, squawking his dis-the ferocity of old Boreas, andresist his most violent in April, at an alti-tude of from eight thousandto eleven thousand five hun-dred feet, these jays begin tobreed. At that height thisis long before the snowceases to fall; indeed, onthe twentieth of June,while making the descentfrom Pikes Peak, I wascau:ht in a snowfall thatgave the ground (|uitea frosty aspect for afew minutes. One canreadily fancy, therefore,that the nests of thesebirds are often sur-rounded with snow. The Rocky Mountain Jay Seeking a covert in the demise pineries when a storm sioeefs down from the mountains A BIRD MISCELLANY 153 and that the bantHngs may get their first view of theworld in the swirl of a snow-squall. The nests are builtin pine bushes and trees at various distances from theground. Of all the hurlv-burlies ever heard, that whichthese birds are able to make when you go near theirnests, or discover them, bears off the palm, their voic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
