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200 THE-CONDOR Vol. XX fasted for a week. On April 8 there was a repetition of the experience of the 7th; on the 9th no birds showed up. On April 10, both old birds appeared, ac- companied by two young just able to fly, which would indicate the .date for fresh eggs to be several weeks earlier. Several other parties have reported being followed back to camp, under similar circumstances. On April 9, 1916, together with a mining friend and another companion, I started from Granite, Colorado, for the cabin of the former, about six miles distant and ten thousand feet altitude, where he was sure jays were always about. As the snow was reported to be packed and frozen, no snow shoes were taken. Abandoning our conveyance a mile or so from the cabin, we began a steep climb over and around drifts. A thaw had set in, and though the crust would bear our weight at times, we were continually breaking through to th? waist or shoulders and frequenti deeper. On such occasions it was "some job" getting out, and progress was largely a matter of crawling and climbing out of drifts. Finally arriving at the cabin, we spent an hour or t?vo building Fig. 37. NAILED IT TO THE ROOF! NOTE THE EXPRESSION. OF DISGU. ST ON TI-IE FACE OF TI?E FORAGER. a fire, preparing coffee and brach, and improvising skees and snow shoes from boards and box material. During this time, to our surprise, no birds appeared, and we separated and began a systematic search in different directions. I had just descended from the sixth tree I had climbed in fruitless inspection of nests containing nothing more valuable than sundry defunct squirrels, and was sprawled on my coat and broken snow shoes, on the snow, taking stock of my scratches and abrasions, when I noticed a jay not over three or four steps from my feet. It was moving about irregularly, pecking on the snow as a chicken might when feeding on scattered grain, and pretended to be unconscious of my presence. I had no ood to offer, nothing but comments, which were liberally tendered. During a period of five or ten minutes the jay continued its erratic mo?'ements, mov- ing off twenty or thirty feet and finally taking wing, and I was unable again to locate it.