In California and adjacent States two species of jays are much in evidence under several more or less well-marked forms.

The Steller jay[46] much resembles the eastern bird, but it is more shy and retiring and seldom visits the orchard or vicinity of the ranch buildings. Stomach examination shows that its food does not radically differ from that of the eastern blue jay. As is the case with that bird, a very considerable part of the food consists of mast, together with a little fruit and some insects. The insects are largely wasps, with some beetles and grasshoppers. The jay also eats some grain, which is probably waste or volunteer. No complaints, so far as known, are made against this bird. Until it shall become less wary it is not likely to trespass to a serious extent upon the farmer’s preserve.

The California jay,[47] although of a different genus, more nearly resembles its eastern relative in food habits and actions. It freely visits the stockyards near ranch buildings, and orchards and gardens. As a fruit stealer it is notorious. One instance is recorded where seven jays were shot from a prune tree, one after the other, the dead bodies being left under the tree until all were killed. So eager were the birds to get the fruit that the report of the gun and the sight of their dead did not deter them from coming to the tree. In orchards in canyons or on hillsides adjacent to chaparral or other cover great mischief is done by this bird. In one such case an orchard was under observation at a time when the prune crop was ripening, and jays in a continuous stream were seen to come down a small ravine to the orchard, prey upon the fruit, and return.

Fruit stealing, however, is only one of the sins of the California jay. That it robs hens’ nests is universal testimony. A case is reported of a hen having a nest under a clump of bushes; every day a jay came to a tree a few rods away, and when it heard the cackle of the hen announcing a new egg it flew at once to the nest. At the same time the mistress of the house hastened to the spot to secure the prize, but in most cases the jay won the race. This is only one of many similar cases recounted. The jays have learned just what the cackle of the hen means. Another case more serious is that related by a man engaged in raising white leghorn fowls on a ranch several miles up a canyon. He stated that when the chicks were very young the jays attacked and killed them by a few blows of the beak and then pecked open the skull and ate out the brains. In spite of all efforts to protect the chicks and kill the jays the losses in this way were serious.

Examination of the stomachs of 326 California jays shows that 27 per cent of the contents for the year consists of animal matter and 73 per cent of vegetable. Although the great bulk of the animal food is made up of insects, the remains of eggshells and birds’ bones appear much too often. The insect food is fairly well distributed among the more common orders, but grasshoppers are slightly the most numerous and constitute 4.5 per cent of the year’s food. In July, August, and September, however, the amount is 14, 18, and 19 per cent, respectively. Four per cent of the food consists of wasps, bees, etc., but in the three months named they constitute 15, 7, and 9 per cent, respectively. A worker honeybee found in each of two stomachs is rather surprising, for it is unusual to find a bird like the jay eating many of these active and elusive insects, which enter into the diet of the flycatchers. The remainder of the insect food is pretty evenly distributed among beetles, bugs, flies, and caterpillars. Eggshells were found in 21 stomachs and birds’ bones in 5. Six stomachs contained the bones of mammals and two those of a lizard. No bird has a worse reputation for nest robbing than has the eastern jay, and yet of 530 stomachs of the eastern species only 6 contained eggshells or the bones of birds. This comparison serves to show what a marauder and nest thief the California jay really is.

In its vegetable diet this bird much resembles its eastern relative, the most remarkable difference being in the matter of fruit eating. With greater opportunities the California bird has developed a greater appetite for fruit and indulges it to the fullest extent. Remains of fruit were found in 220 of the 326 stomachs. The percentage for the year is only 16, but for the four months of June, July, August, and September it is 44, 33, 53, and 25, respectively. Cherries, apricots, and prunes are the favorites among cultivated fruits, and elderberries are relished to some extent. Grain, which was found in 48 stomachs, amounts to 6 per cent of the food of the year. Practically all of it was taken in the four months above mentioned, but it is not probable that much damage is done by the jay in this respect. The major portion of the grain was oats. What was not wild was probably simply scattered grain gleaned after the harvest. Mast is eaten by the California jay from September to March, inclusive, and constitutes during most of that period one of the principal elements of its food. In this respect the bird shows a remarkable similarity to the eastern species. A few weed seeds and other miscellaneous items make up the balance of the vegetable food.

In summing up from an economic point of view the character of the food of the California jay, it must be conceded that it is not all that could be wished. Its taste for birds’ eggs and fruit is entirely too pronounced, and at present the species is superabundant in California. While the natural food supply of the bird has been lessened by bringing the woods and brushy canyons under cultivation, the same areas have been planted to fruit, and naturally the jay takes the fruit as an acceptable substitute. A considerable reduction of the bird’s numbers would appear to be the only effective remedy.