Some naturalists consider CALIFORNIA JAY the least harmful, while other observers report an excess of bad habits. Like many birds, Jays have individual bandits who give a bad name to the genus — wherein they do not differ from men.
California Jays seem to have similar family traits, particularly that of silence when nesting and gathering in loquacious bands after the young are reared.
NEST: in low scrub, a bulky collection of twigs, grass and moss with fine inner lining.
EGGS: 3–6; dark green or buffy, thickly splotched with chestnut, brown and lilac.
Pacific coast of United States from southwestern Washington south to San Bernardino Mountains, California. East to Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges.
A tree rarely 50 feet high, often forming timber line on western mountains north of 53 degrees.