SP. CHAR. Bill and naked skin behind the eye black. General color

black. The belly, scapulars, and inner webs of the primaries white;

hind part of back grayish; exposed portion of the tail-feathers glossy

green, tinged with purple and violet near the end; wings glossed with

green; the secondaries and tertials with blue; throat-feathers spotted

with white in younger specimens. Length, 19.00; wing, 8.50; tail,

13.00. Young in color and appearance similar generally to the adult.

HAB. The northern regions of North America. The middle and western

Provinces of the United States exclusive of California; Wisconsin,

Michigan, and Northern Illinois, in winter.

The American Magpie is almost exactly similar to the European, and

differs only in larger size and disproportionably longer tail.

According to Maximilian and other authors, the iris of the American

bird has a grayish-blue outer ring, wanting in the European bird, and

the voice is quite different. It is, however, difficult to consider

the two birds otherwise than as geographical races of one primitive

stock.

HABITS. The American Magpie has an extended western distribution from

Arizona on the south to Alaska on the northwest. It has been met with

as far to the east as the Missouri River, and is found from there to

the Pacific. It is abundant at Sitka; it was observed at Ounga, one of

the Shumagin Islands, and was obtained by Bischoff at Kodiak.

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII.

1. Pica hudsonica. ♂ Nev., 53629.

2. Gymnokitta cyanocephala. ♂ Cal., 16247.

3. Pica nuttalli. ♂ Cal., 3938.

4. Picicorvus columbianus. Oregon, 4461.]

Richardson observed these birds on the Saskatchewan, where a few

remain even in winter, but are much more frequent in summer.

Mr. Lord, the naturalist of the British branch of the Northwest

Boundary Survey, characterizes our Magpie as murderous, because of its

cruel persecution of galled and suffering mules, its picking out the

eyes of living animals, and its destruction of birds. These birds

caused so much trouble to the party, in winter, at Colville, as to

become utterly unbearable, and a large number were destroyed by

strychnine. They were then so tame and impudent that he repeatedly

gave them food from his hand without their showing any evidence of

fear. He says they nest in March.

Dr. Suckley states that this Magpie is abundant throughout the central

region of Oregon and Washington Territory. He first met with it a

hundred miles west of Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone. It

became more abundant as the mountains were approached, and so

continued almost as far west as the Cascade Mountains, where the dense

forests were an effectual barrier. On Puget Sound he saw none until

August, after which, during the fall, it was tolerably abundant. It

breeds throughout the interior. He obtained a young bird, nearly

fledged, about May 5, at Fort Dalles. At this place a few birds remain

throughout the winter, but a majority retire farther south during the

cold weather. One of its cries, he says, resembles a peculiar call of

Steller’s Jay.

Mr. Ridgway regards this Magpie as one of the most characteristic and

conspicuous birds of the interior region, distinguished both for the

elegance of its form and the beauty of its plumage. While not at all

rare in the fertile mountain cañons, the principal resort of this

species is the rich bottom-land of the rivers. The usual note of the

Magpie is a frequently uttered chatter, very peculiar, and, when once

heard, easily recognized. During the nesting-season it utters a softer

and more musical and plaintive note, sounding something like

_kay´-e-ehk-kay-e_. It generally flies about in small flocks, and,

like others of its family, is very fond of tormenting owls. In the

winter, in company with the Ravens, it resorts to the slaughter-houses

to feed on offal. The young differ but little in plumage from the

adult, the metallic colors being even a little more vivid; the white

spotting of the throat is characteristic of the immature bird.

The nests were found by Mr. Ridgway in various situations. Some were

in cedars, some in willows, and others in low shrubs. In every

instance the nest was domed, the inner and real nest being enclosed in

an immense thorny covering, which far exceeded it in bulk. In the side

of this thorny protection is a winding passage leading into the nest,

possibly designed to conceal the very long tail of the bird, which, if

exposed to view, would endanger its safety.

Dr. Cooper first met this bird east of the Cascade Mountains, near the

Yakima, and from there in his journey northward as far as the 49th

degree it was common, as well as in all the open unwooded regions

until the mountains were passed on his return westward.

Dr. Kennerly met with these birds on the Little Colorado in New

Mexico, in December. He found them in great numbers soon after leaving

the Rio Grande, and from time to time on the march to California. They

seemed to live indifferently in the deep cañons among the hills or in

the valleys, but were only found near water.

Dr. Newberry first met with these birds on the banks of one of the

tributaries of the Des Chutes, one hundred miles south of the

Columbia, afterwards on the Columbia, but nowhere in large numbers. He

regards them as much less gregarious in their habits than _Pica

nuttalli_, as all the birds he noticed were solitary or in pairs,

while the Yellow-bills were often seen in flocks of several hundreds.

All accounts of this bird agree in representing it as frequently a

great source of annoyance to parties of exploration, especially in its

attacks upon horses worn down and galled by fatigue and privations. In

the memorable narrative of Colonel Pike’s journey in New Mexico, these

birds, rendered bold and voracious by want, are described as

assembling around that miserable party in great numbers, picking the

sore backs of their perishing horses, and snatching at all the food

they could reach. The party of Lewis and Clark, who were the first to

add this bird to our fauna, also describe them as familiar and

voracious, penetrating into their tents, snatching the meat even from

their dishes, and frequently, when the hunters were engaged in

dressing their game, seizing the meat suspended within a foot or two

of their heads.

Mr. Nuttall, in his tour across the continent, found these birds so

familiar and greedy as to be easily taken, as they approached the

encampment for food, by the Indian boys, who kept them prisoners. They

soon became reconciled to their confinement, and were continually

hopping around and tugging and struggling for any offal thrown to

them.

Observers have reported this bird from different parts of Arizona and

New Mexico; but Dr. Coues writes me that he never saw it at Fort

Whipple, or elsewhere in the first-named Territory. He found it

breeding, however, in the Raton Mountains, in June, under the

following circumstances, recorded at the time in his journal.

“Yesterday, the 8th, we were rolling over smooth prairie,

ascending a little the while, but so gradually that only the

change in the flora indicated the difference in elevation. The

flowery verdure was passed, scrubby junipers came thicker and

faster, and pine-clad mountain-tops took shape before us. We made

the pass to-day, rounding along a picturesque ravine, and the

noon halt gave me a chance to see something of the birds. Troops

of beautiful Swallows were on wing, and as their backs turned in

their wayward flight, the violet-green colors betrayed the

species. A colony of them were breeding on the face of a cliff,

apparently like _H. lunifrons_, but the nests were not

accessible. Whilst I was watching their movements, a harsh scream

attracted my attention, and the next moment a beautiful Magpie

flew swiftly past with quivering wings, and with a flirt of the

glittering tail and a curious evolution dashed into a dense

thicket close by. In the hope of seeing him again, and perhaps of

finding his nest, I hurried to the spot where he had disappeared,

and pushed into the underbrush. In a few moments I stood in a

little open space, surrounded on all sides and covered above with

a network of vines interlacing the twigs and foliage so closely

that the sun’s rays hardly struggled through. A pretty shady

bower! and there, sure enough, was the nest, not likely to be

overlooked, for it was as big as a bushel basket,—a globular

mass, hung in the top of one of the taller saplings, about twelve

feet from the ground. The mother bird was at home, and my

bustling approach alarmed her; she flew out of the nest with loud

cries of distress, which brought the male to her side in an

instant. As I scrambled up the slender trunk, which swayed with

my weight, both birds kept flying about my head with redoubled

outcry, alighting for an instant, then dashing past again so

close that I thought they would peck at me. As I had no means of

preserving the nest, I would not take it down, and contented

myself with such observations as I could make whilst bestriding a

limb altogether too slender for comfort. It was nearly spherical

in shape, seemed to be about eighteen inches in diameter, arched

over, with a small hole on one side. The walls, composed entirely

of interlaced twigs bristling outwardly in every direction, were

extremely thick, the space inside being much less than one would

expect, and seemingly hardly enough to accommodate the bird’s

long tail, which I suppose must be held upright. The nest was

lined with a little coarse dried grass, and contained six young

ones nearly ready to fly. Authors state that the American Magpie

lays only two eggs; but I suppose that this particular pair lived

too far from scientific centres to find out what was expected of

them. Other birds, noticed to-day, were Steller’s Jays among the

pines and cedars, a flock of _Chrysomitris_, apparently _pinus_,

feeding on willow-buds along the rivulet that threaded the gorge,

and some Robins.”

The eggs of this Magpie are somewhat larger than any I have seen of

_P. nuttalli_, and are differently marked and colored. Six specimens

from the Sierra Nevada exhibit the following measurements: 1.40 ×

0.98, 1.22 × 1.00, 1.41 × 0.95, 1.28 × 0.95, 1.26 × 0.92, 1.32 × 0.96.

Their ground-color is a grayish-white, or light gray with a yellowish

tinge, spotted with blotches, dottings, and dashes of a purplish or

violet brown. In some they are sparsely distributed, showing plainly

the ground, more confluent at the larger end. In others they are

finer, more generally and more thickly distributed. In others they are

much larger and of deeper color, and cover the whole of the larger end

with one large cloud of confluent markings. None of these closely

resembles the eggs of _P. nuttalli_. The usual number of eggs in a

nest, according to Mr. Ridgway, varies from six to nine, although it

is said that ten are sometimes found.

Pica caudata, var. nuttalli, AUD.

YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE.

_Pica nuttalli_, AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 450, pl. ccclxii.—IB.

Syn. 1839, 152.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 104, pl.

ccxxviii.—BON. List, 1838.—IB. Conspectus, 1850,

383.—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 236.—NEWBERRY, Rep. P.

R. R. VI, IV, 1857, 84.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 578, pl.

xxvi.—HEERM. X, _S_, 54.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 295.

_Cleptes nuttalli_, GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. Ph. 2d Series, I,

1847, 46.

SP. CHAR. Bill, and naked skin behind the eye, bright yellow;

otherwise similar to _P. hudsonica_. Length, 17.00; wing, 8.00; tail.

10.00.

HAB. California (Sacramento Valley, and southern coast region).

We cannot look upon the Yellow-billed Magpie otherwise than as a local

race of the common kind, since it is well known that among the Jays

many species have the bill either black or yellow according to sex,

age, or locality; and as the Yellow-billed Magpie occupies a more

southern locality than usual, and one very different from that of the

black-billed species, it well may exhibit a special geographical

variation. The great restriction in range is another argument in favor

of its being a simple variety.

HABITS. The Yellow-billed Magpie seems to be exclusively a bird of

California, where it is very abundant, and where it replaces almost

entirely the more eastern form. Mr. Ridgway, who met with this variety

only in the valley of the Sacramento, states that he there found it

very abundant among the oaks of that region. It differed from the

common Magpie in being exceedingly gregarious, moving about among the

oak groves in small companies, incessantly chattering as it flew, or

as it sat among the branches of the trees. He saw many of their nests

in the tops of the oaks,—indeed, all were so situated,—yet he never

met with the nests of the other species in a high tree, not even in

the river valleys. The young of this Magpie have the white of the

scapulars marked with rusty triangular spots.

Dr. Cooper found this Magpie abundant in the valleys of California,

especially near the middle of the State, except during the spring

months, when none were seen in the Santa Clara Valley, the supposition

being that they had retired eastward to the mountains to build their

nests. At Santa Barbara he found them numerous in April and May, and

saw their nests in oak-trees. The young were already fledged by the

25th of April. The nest, he states, is composed of a large mass of

coarse twigs twisted together in a spherical form, with a hole in the

side. The eggs he saw resembled those of the other species, and are

described as being whitish-green, spotted with cinereous-gray and

olive-brown. They also breed abundantly about Monterey. They have not

been traced to the northern border of the State.

Their food, Dr. Cooper adds, consists of almost everything animal and

vegetable that they can find, and they come about farms and gardens to

pick up whatever they can meet with. They have a loud call that sounds

like _pait-pait_, with a variety of chattering notes, in tone

resembling the human voice, which, indeed, they can be taught to

imitate.

An egg of this species from Monterey, California, is of a rounded oval

shape, a little less obtuse at one end than the other. The

ground-color is a light drab, so closely marked with fine cloudings of

an obscure lavender color as nearly to conceal the ground, and to give

the egg the appearance of an almost uniform violet-brown. It measures

1.20 inches in length by .90 in breadth.

GENUS CYANURA, SWAINSON.

_Cyanurus_, SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 495, Appendix. (Type,

_Corvus cristatus_, LINN.)

_Cyanocitta_, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851 (not of STRICKLAND, 1845).

GEN. CHAR. Head crested. Wings and tail blue, with transverse black

bars; head and back of the same color. Bill rather slender, somewhat

broader than high at the base; culmen about equal to the head.

Nostrils large, nearly circular, concealed by bristles. Tail about as

long as the wings, lengthened, graduated. Hind claw large, longer than

its digit.

[Line drawing: _Cyanura cristata._

1423]

Species and Varieties.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Wings and tail deep blue, the latter,

with the secondaries and tertials, sometimes also the greater

coverts, barred with black.

A. Greater coverts, tertials, secondaries, and

tail-feathers tipped broadly with white; lower parts

generally, including lateral and under parts of head,

whitish.

C. cristata. Head above, back, scapulars, lesser

wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts, light ashy

purplish-blue; a narrow frontal band, a loral spot,

streak behind the eye, and collar round the neck,

commencing under the crest, passing down across the end

of the auriculars and expanding into a crescent across

the jugulum, black; throat tinged with purplish-gray,

the breast and sides with smoky-gray; abdomen, anal

region, and crissum pure white. Wing, 5.70; tail, 6.00;

bill, 1.25; tarsus, 1.35; middle toe, .85; crest, 2.20.

_Hab._ Eastern Province of North America.

B. No white on wing or tail; lower parts deep blue.

C. stelleri. Color deep blue, less intense than on wings

and tail, except dorsal region, which may be deep blue,

ashy-brown, or sooty-black. Head and neck dark

grayish-brown, dusky-blue, or deep black, the throat

more grayish.

_a._ No white patch over the eye; throat and chin not

abruptly lighter than adjacent parts; secondary

coverts not barred with black.

Whole head, neck, jugulum, and dorsal region plain

sooty-black; no blue streaks on forehead, or else

these only faintly indicated. The blue everywhere of

a uniform dull greenish-indigo shade. Depth of bill,

.45; crest, 2.60; wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; culmen,

1.35; tarsus, 1.75; middle toe, 1.00. _Hab._

Northwest coast, from Sitka to the Columbia var. _stelleri_.

Whole head, neck, jugulum, and dorsal region

plumbeous-umber; the forehead conspicuously streaked

with blue, and the crest washed with the same. The

blue of two very different shades, the wings and

tail being deep indigo, the body and tail-coverts

greenish cobalt-blue. Depth of bill, .35; crest,

2.80; wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; culmen, 1.25; tarsus,

1.55; middle toe, .90. _Hab._ Sierra Nevada, from

Fort Crook to Fort Tejon var. _frontalis_.

_b._ A patch of silky white over the eye; throat and

chin abruptly lighter than the adjoining parts;

secondary coverts barred distinctly with black.

Whole crest, cheeks, and foreneck deep black; the

crest scarcely tinged with blue; dorsal region light

ashy-plumbeous; forehead conspicuously streaked with

milk-white. The blue contrasted as in var.

_frontalis_. Depth of bill, .35; crest, 3.00; wing,

6.10; tail, 6.10; culmen, 1.25; tarsus, 1.65; middle

toe, .90. _Hab._ Rocky Mountains of United States

var. _macrolopha_.

Whole crest, cheeks, and foreneck deep black, the

crest strongly tinged with blue; dorsal region

greenish plumbeous-blue. The blue nearly uniform;

forehead conspicuously streaked with bluish-white.

Depth of bill, .35; crest, 2.80; wing, 5.90; tail,

5.90; culmen, 1.30; tarsus, 1.60; middle toe, .90.

_Hab._ Highlands of Mexico var. _diademata_.[56]

Whole crest, cheeks, and foreneck deep blue, lores

black; dorsal region deep purplish-blue; forehead

conspicuously streaked with light blue. The blue of

a uniform shade—deep purplish-indigo—throughout.

Depth of bill, .40; length of crest, 2.50; wing,

5.80; tail, 5.80; culmen, 1.30; tarsus, 1.60; middle

toe, .95. _Hab._ Southeastern Mexico (Xalapa,

Belize, etc.) var. _coronata_.[57]

The different varieties just indicated under _Cyanura stelleri_,

namely, _stelleri_, _frontalis_, _macrolopha_, _diademata_, and

_coronata_, all appear to represent well-marked and easily defined

races of one primitive species, the gradation from one form to the

other being very regular, and agreeing with the general variation

attendant upon geographical distribution. Thus, beginning with _C.

stelleri_, we have the anterior part of head and body, including

interscapular region, black, without any markings on the head. In

_frontalis_ the back is lighter, and a glossy blue shows on the

forehead. In _macrolopha_ the blue of posterior parts invades the

anterior, tingeing them very decidedly, leaving the head black, with a

blue shade to the crest; the forehead is glossed with bluish-white;

the upper eyelids have a white spot. In _coronata_ the blue tinge is

deeper, and pervades the entire body, except the side of the head. The

shade of blue is different from _macrolopha_, and more like that of

_stelleri_; _diademata_, intermediate in habitat between _macrolopha_

and _coronata_, is also intermediate in colors. The tail becomes

rather more even, and the bill more slender, as we proceed from

_stelleri_ to _coronata_. The bars on the secondary coverts become

darker in the same progression.

[56] _Cyanura diademata_ (BONAP.), _Cyanogarrulus

diadematus_, BONAP. Consp. p. 377. _Cyanocitta diad._,

SCLATER, Catal. Am. B. 1862, 143. The _C. galeata_, CAB.,

from Bogota, we have not seen.

[57] _Cyanura coronata_, SWAINS. Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 437.

Cyanura cristata, SWAINSON.

BLUE JAY.

_Corvus cristatus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, (10th ed.,) 1758, 106; (12th

ed.,) 1766, 157.—GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 369.—WILSON, Am.

Orn. I, 1808, 2, pl. i, f. 1.—BON. Obs. Wilson, 1824, No.

41.—DOUGHTY, Cab. N. H. II, 1832, 62, pl. vi.—AUD. Orn. Biog.

II, 1834, 11; V, 1839, 475, pl. cii. _Garrulus cristatus_,

“VIEILLOT, Encyclop. 890.”—IB. Dict. XI, 477.—BON. Syn. 1828,

58.—SW. F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 293.—VIEILLOT, Galerie, I,

1824, 160, pl. cii.—AUD. Birds Am. IV, 110, pl. ccxxxi.—MAX.

Caban. J. 1858, VI, 192. _Pica cristata_, WAGLER, Syst. Av.

1827, _Pica_, No. 8. _Cyanurus cristatus_, SWAINSON, F.

Bor.-Am. II, 1831, App. 495.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

580.—SAMUELS, 364.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla. 297. _Cyanocorax

cristatus_, BON. List, 1838. _Cyanocitta cristata_, STRICKLAND,

Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, 261.—CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 221.

_Cyanogarrulus cristatus_, BON. Consp. 1850, 376.

SP. CHAR. Crest about one third longer than the bill. Tail much

graduated. General color above light purplish-blue; wings and

tail-feathers ultramarine-blue; the secondaries and tertials, the

greater wing-coverts, and the exposed surface of the tail, sharply

banded with black and broadly tipped with white, except on the central

tail-feathers. Beneath white; tinged with purplish-blue on the throat,

and with bluish-brown on the sides. A black crescent on the forepart

of the breast, the horns passing forward and connecting with a

half-collar on the back of the neck. A narrow frontal line and loral

region black; feathers on the base of the bill blue, like the crown.

Female rather duller in color, and a little smaller. Length, 12.25;

wing, 5.65; tail, 5.75.

HAB. Eastern North America, west to the Missouri. Northeastern Texas

(DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 494). North to Red River and Moose Factory.

Specimens from north of the United States are larger than more

southern ones. A series of specimens from Florida, brought by Mr.

Boardman, are quite peculiar in some respects, and probably represent

a local race resident there. In these Florida specimens the wing and

tail are each an inch or more shorter than in Pennsylvania examples,

while the bill is not any smaller. The crest is very short; the white

spaces on secondaries and tail-feathers more restricted.

[Illustration: _Cyanura cristata._]

HABITS. The common Blue Jay of North America is found throughout the

continent, from the Atlantic coast to the Missouri Valley, and from

Florida and Texas to the fur regions nearly or quite to the 56th

parallel. It was found breeding near Lake Winnepeg by Donald Gunn. It

was also observed in these regions by Sir John Richardson. It was met

with by Captain Blakiston on the forks of the Saskatchewan, but not

farther west.

The entire family to which this Jay belongs, and of which it is a very

conspicuous member, is nearly cosmopolitan as to distribution, and is

distinguished by the remarkable intelligence of all its members. Its

habits are striking, peculiar, and full of interest, often evincing

sagacity, forethought, and intelligence strongly akin to reason. These

traits belong not exclusively to any one species or generic

subdivision, but are common to the whole family.

When first met with in the wild and unexplored regions of our country,

the Jay appears shy and suspicious of the intruder, man. Yet, curious

to a remarkable degree, he follows the stranger, watches all his

movements, hovers with great pertinacity about his steps, ever keeping

at a respectful distance, even before he has been taught to beware of

the deadly gun. Afterwards, as he becomes better acquainted with man,

the Jay conforms his own conduct to the treatment he receives. Where

he is hunted in wanton sport, because of brilliant plumage, or

persecuted because of unjust prejudices and a bad reputation not

deserved, he is shy and wary, shuns, as much as possible, human

society, and, when the hunter intrudes into his retreat, seems to

delight to follow and annoy him, and to give the alarm to all dwellers

of the woods that their foe is approaching.

In parts of the country, as in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and other

Western States, where the Jay is unmolested and exempt from

persecution, we find him as familiar and confiding as any of the

favored birds of the Eastern States. In the groves of Iowa Mr. Allen

found our Blue Jay nearly as unsuspicious as a Black-capped Titmouse.

In Illinois he speaks of them as very abundant and half domestic. And

again, in Indiana, in one of the principal streets of Richmond, the

same gentleman found the nest of these birds in a lilac-bush, under

the window of a dwelling. In the summer of 1843 I saw a nest of the

Jay, filled with young, in a tree standing near the house of Mr.

Audubon, in the city of New York. The habits of no two species can

well be more unlike than are those which persecution on the one hand

and kind treatment on the other have developed in this bird.

The Blue Jay, wherever found, is more or less resident. This is

especially the case in the more southern portions of its area of

reproduction. In Texas, Dr. Lincecum informs us, this Jay remains both

summer and winter. It is there said to build its nest of mud, a

material rarely if ever used in more northern localities; and when

placed not far from dwelling-houses, it is lined with cotton thread,

rags of calico, and the like. They are, he writes, very intelligent

and sensible birds, subsisting on insects, acorns, etc. He has

occasionally known them to destroy bats. In Texas they seem to seek

the protection of man, and to nest near dwellings as a means of safety

against Hawks. They nest but once a year, and lay but four eggs. In a

female dissected by him, he detected one hundred and twelve ova, and

from these data he infers that the natural life of a Jay is about

thirty years.

Mr. Allen mentions finding the Blue Jay in Kansas equally at home, and

as vivacious and even more gayly colored than at the North. While it

seemed to have forgotten none of the droll notes and fantastic ways

always to be expected from it, there was added to its manners that

familiarity which characterizes it in the more newly settled portions

of the country, occasionally surprising one with some new expression

of feeling or sentiment, or some unexpected eccentricity in its varied

notes, perhaps developed by the more southern surroundings.

The Blue Jay is arboreal in its habits. It prefers the shelter and

security of thick covers to more open ground. It is omnivorous, eating

either animal or vegetable food, though with an apparent preference

for the former, feeding upon insects, their eggs and larvæ, and worms,

wherever procurable. It also lays up large stores of acorns and beech

mast for food in winter, when insects cannot be procured in sufficient

abundance. Even at this season it hunts for and devours in large

quantities the eggs of the destructive tent caterpillar.

The Jay is charged with a propensity to destroy the eggs and young of

the smaller birds, and has even been accused of killing full-grown

birds. I am not able to verify these charges, but they seem to be too

generally conceded to be disputed. These are the only serious grounds

of complaint that can be brought against it, and are more than

outweighed, tenfold, by the immense services it renders to man in the

destruction of his enemies. Its depredations on the garden or the farm

are too trivial to be mentioned.

The Blue Jay is conspicuous as a musician. He exhibits a variety in

his notes, and occasionally a beauty and a harmony in his song, for

which few give him due credit. Wilson compares his position among our

singing birds to that of the trumpeter in the band. His notes he

varies to an almost infinite extent, at one time screaming with all

his might, at another warbling with all the softness of tone and

moderation of the Bluebird, and again imparting to his voice a grating

harshness that is indescribable.

The power of mimicry possessed by the Jay, though different from, is

hardly surpassed by that of the Mocking-Bird. It especially delights

to imitate the cries of the Sparrow Hawk, and at other times those of

the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks are given with such similarity

that the small birds fly to a covert, and the inmates of the

poultry-yard are in the greatest alarm. Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, of

Cleveland, on whose grounds a large colony of Jays took up their abode

and became very familiar, has given me a very interesting account of

their habits. The following is an extract: “They soon became so

familiar as to feed about our yards and corn-cribs. At the dawn of

every pleasant day throughout the year, the nesting-season excepted, a

stranger in my house might well suppose that all the axles in the

country were screeching aloud for lubrication, hearing the harsh and

discordant utterances of these birds. During the day the poultry might

be frequently seen running into their hiding-places, and the gobbler

with his upturned eye searching the heavens for the enemy, all excited

and alarmed by the mimic utterances of the adapt ventriloquists, the

Jays, simulating the cries of the Red-shouldered and the Red-tailed

Hawks. The domestic circle of the barn-yard evidently never gained any

insight into the deception by experience; for, though the trick was

repeated every few hours, the excitement would always be re-enacted.”

When reared from the nest, these birds become very tame, and are

perfectly reconciled to confinement. They very soon grow into amusing

pets, learning to imitate the human voice, and to simulate almost

every sound that they hear. Wilson gives an account of one that had

been brought up in a family of a gentleman in South Carolina that

displayed great intelligence, and had all the loquacity of a parrot.

This bird could utter several words with great distinctness, and,

whenever called, would immediately answer to its name with great

sociability.

The late Dr. Esteep, of Canton, Ohio, an experienced bird-fancier,

assured Dr. Kirtland that he has invariably found the Blue Jay more

ingenious, cunning, and teachable than any other species of bird he

has ever attempted to instruct.

[Illustration: PLATE XXXIX.

1. Cyanura stelleri. ♂ Oregon, 46040.

2. ” ” _var_. frontalis. ♂ Sierra Nevada, 53639.

3. ” macrolopha. ♂ Ariz., 41015.

4. ” coronata. ♂ Xalapa, 16313.]

Dr. Kirtland has also informed me of the almost invaluable services

rendered to the farmers in his neighborhood, by the Blue Jays, in the

destruction of caterpillars. When he first settled on his farm, he

found every apple and wild-cherry tree in the vicinity extensively

disfigured and denuded of its leaves by the larvæ of the _Clisiocampa

americana_, or the tent caterpillar. The evil was so extensive that

even the best farmers despaired of counteracting it. Not long after

the Jays colonized upon his place he found they were feeding their

young quite extensively with these larvæ, and so thoroughly that two

or three years afterwards not a worm was to be seen in that

neighborhood; and more recently he has searched for it in vain, in

order to rear cabinet specimens of the moth.

The Jay builds a strong coarse nest in the branch of some forest or

orchard tree, or even in a low bush. It is formed of twigs rudely but

strongly interwoven, and is lined with dark fibrous roots. The eggs

are usually five, and rarely six in number.

The eggs of this species are usually of a rounded-oval shape, obtuse,

and of very equal size at either end. Their ground-color is a

brownish-olive, varying in depth, and occasionally an olive-drab. They

are sparingly spotted with darker olive-brown. In size they vary from

1.05 to 1.20 inches in length, and in breadth from .82 to .88 of an

inch. Their average size is about 1.15 by .86 of an inch.

Cyanura stelleri, SWAINSON.

STELLER’S JAY.

_Corvus stelleri_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 370.—LATH. Ind. Orn.

I, 1790, 158.—PALLAS, Zoog. Rosso-As. I, 1811, 393.—BONAP.

Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 49.—IB. Suppl. Syn. 1828, 433.—AUD.

Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 453, pl. ccclxii. _Garrulus stelleri_,

VIEILLOT, Dict. XII, 1817, 481.—BONAP. Am. Orn. II, 1828, 44,

pl. xiii.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 229.—AUD. Syn. 1839,

154.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 107, pl. ccxxx (not of SWAINSON,

F. Bor.-Am.?). _Cyanurus stelleri_, SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II,

1831, 495, App. _Pica stelleri_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827,

_Pica_, No. 10. _Cyanocorax stelleri_, BON. List, 1838. FINSCH,

Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 40 (Alaska). _Cyanocitta stelleri_, CAB.

Mus. Hein. 1851, 221. NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep. VI, IV, 1857, 85.

_Cyanogarrulus stelleri_, BONAP. Conspectus, 1850, 377.

_Steller’s Crow_, PENNANT, Arctic Zoöl. II, Sp. 139. LATH. Syn.

I, 387. _Cyanura s._ BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 581 (in part).

LORD, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 122 (British Columbia; nest).—DALL &

BANNISTER, Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869, 486 (Alaska).—COOPER, Orn.

Cal. I, 1870, 298 (in part).

SP. CHAR. Crest about one third longer than the bill. Fifth quill

longest; second about equal to the secondary quills. Tail graduated;

lateral feathers about .70 of an inch shortest. Head and neck all

round, and forepart of breast, dark brownish-black. Back and lesser

wing-coverts blackish-brown, the scapulars glossed with blue. Under

parts, rump, tail-coverts, and wings greenish-blue; exposed surfaces

of lesser quills dark indigo-blue; tertials and ends of tail-feathers

rather obsoletely banded with black. Feathers of the forehead streaked

with greenish-blue. Length, about 13.00; wing, 5.85; tail, 5.85;

tarsus, 1.75 (1,921).

HAB. Pacific coast of North America, from the Columbia River to Sitka;

east to St. Mary’s Mission, Rocky Mountains.

HABITS. Dr. Suckley regarded Steller’s Jay as probably the most

abundant bird of its size in all the wooded country between the Rocky

Mountains and the Pacific. He describes it as tame, loquacious, and

possessed of the most impudent curiosity. It is a hardy, tough bird,

and a constant winter resident of Washington Territory. It is

remarkable for its varied cries and notes, and seems to have one for

every emotion or pursuit in which it is engaged. It also has a great

fondness for imitating the notes of other birds. Dr. Suckley states

that frequently when pleasantly excited by the hope of obtaining a

rare bird, in consequence of hearing an unknown note issuing from some

clump of bushes or thicket, he has been not a little disappointed by

finding that it had issued from this Jay. It mimics accurately the

principal cry of the Catbird.

Dr. Cooper also found it very common in all the forests on both sides

of the Cascade Mountains. While it seemed to depend chiefly upon the

forest for its food, in the winter it would make visits to the

vicinity of houses, and steal anything eatable it could find within

its reach, even potatoes. In these forages upon the gardens and

farm-yards, they are both silent and watchful, evidently conscious of

the peril of their undertaking, and when discovered they instantly fly

off to the concealment of the forests. They also make visits to the

Indian lodges when the owners are absent, and force their way into

them if possible, one of their number keeping watch. In the forest

they do not appear to be shy or timid, but boldly follow those who

intrude upon their domain, screaming, and calling their companions

around them. Hazel-nuts are one of their great articles of winter

food; and Dr. Cooper states that, in order to break the shell, the Jay

resorts to the ingenious expedient of taking them to a branch of a

tree, fixing them in a crotch or cavity, and hammering them with its

bill until it can reach the meat within. Their nest he describes as

large, loosely built of sticks, and placed in a bush or low tree.

At certain seasons of the year its food consisted almost entirely of

the seeds of the pine, particularly of _P. brachyptera_, which Dr.

Newberry states he has often seen them extracting from the cones, and

with which the stomachs of those he killed were usually filled. He

found these birds ranging as far north as the line of the British

Territory, and from the coast to the Rocky Mountains.

In his Western journey Mr. Nuttall met with these birds in the Blue

Mountains of the Oregon, east of Walla-walla. There he found them

scarce and shy. Afterwards he found them abundant in the pine forests

of the Columbia, where their loud trumpeting clangor was heard at all

hours of the day, calling out with a loud voice, _djay-djay_, or

chattering with a variety of other notes, some of them similar to

those of the common Blue Jay. They are more bold and familiar than our

Jay. Watchful as a dog, no sooner does a stranger show himself in

their vicinity than they neglect all other employment to come round

him, following and sometimes scolding at him with great pertinacity

and signs of irritability. At other times, stimulated by curiosity,

they follow for a while in perfect silence, until something seems to

arouse their ire, and then their vociferous cries are poured out with

unceasing volubility till the intruder has passed from their view.

In the month of May, Mr. Nuttall found a nest of these birds in a

small sapling of the Douglas fir, on the borders of a dense forest,

and, some time after, a second nest with young, in an elevated branch

of another fir, on the border of a rocky cliff. The first nest

contained four eggs, of a pale green, marked with small olive-brown

spots, varied with others inclining to a violet hue. The parents flew

at him with the utmost anger and agitation, almost deafening him with

their cries; and although he took only two of their eggs, the next day

he found they had forsaken their nest. This nest was bulky, made of

interlaced twigs and roots, with a stout layer of mud, and lined with

black rootlets. One of the eggs taken by Mr. Nuttall is in my cabinet,

and is as he describes it, except that the obscure markings of violet

have nearly faded out. It measures 1.20 inches in length, and .90 in

breadth, is oval in shape, and a little more obtuse at one end than at

the other.

This Jay was obtained by Steller at Nootka, on the west coast of

Vancouver Island, in latitude 50°. It was also found in abundance by

Mr. Dall at Sitka, in British Columbia, where a number of specimens

were obtained by Mr. Bischoff and by Mr. Elliot.

Mr. J. K. Lord states that this Jay ever makes its presence known by

the constant utterance of discordant screams. It is continually

hopping from bough to bough, darting down to catch an insect,

performing short, erratic flights, and jerking up and down its crest

of bright feathers. Its noisy song seems to be everywhere. It is the

embodiment of restlessness, and, by dint of sheer impudence, attracts

attention even from the hunter. He adds that it seemed fond of

frequenting the haunts of man, and is always plentiful near Indian

lodges or white men’s shanties. It is by no means epicurean in taste,

but readily devours anything, whether seeds or salmon, grasshoppers or

venison. Its nest he found artfully concealed amidst the thick foliage

of a young pine-tree. It was composed of moss, small twigs, lichens,

and fir fronds, and lined with deer’s hair. The average number of eggs

laid appears to be seven.

Cyanura stelleri, var. frontalis, RIDGWAY.

SIERRA JAY.

_Cyanura stelleri_, AUCT. All reference to Steller’s Jay as

occurring in California, excepting on the northern Coast Range,

relate to this variety.

SP. CHAR. Head, neck, and dorsal region plumbeous-umber, darker on the

head, and posteriorly changing gradually into the light greenish-blue

of the rest of the body; wings and tail deep indigo-blue, the

tertials, secondaries, and tail conspicuously marked with broad and

rather distant bars of black; primaries greenish light-blue, like the

rump, abdomen, etc. Whole forehead conspicuously streaked with blue

(the streaks forming two parallel series, where the feathers are not

disarranged), and the crest strongly tinged with blue. ♂ (53,639,

Carson City, Nevada, April 30, 1868): wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; culmen,

1.25; depth of bill, .35; tarsus, 1.55; middle toe, .90; crest, 2.80.

♀ (53,640, Carson City, Nevada, April 30, 1868): wing, 5.70; tail,

5.50. _Young_ with the blue of the body and head entirely replaced by

a sooty grayish; and that of the wings and tail duller, and less

distinctly barred.

HAB. Whole length of the Sierra Nevada, from Fort Crook (where it

approaches var. _stelleri_) to Fort Tejon.

In the colors of the body, wings, and tail, this well-marked race

resembles _C. macrolopha_ in every respect, except that the greater

coverts are not barred with black; there being the same abrupt

contrast between the deep blue of the wings and tail, and the light

greenish-blue of the body, tail-coverts, and primaries,—seen only in

these two forms. The variety is confined to the mountains of

California and Western Nevada, extending along the Sierra Nevada about

the entire length of the State, there being specimens in the

collection from Fort Crook and Fort Tejon, and intermediate

localities.

HABITS. The Blue-fronted Jay, so far as it was observed by Mr.

Ridgway, was found to be exclusively an inhabitant of the pine woods

of the Sierra Nevada, and is, with Clarke’s Nutcracker, one of the

most characteristic birds of that region. In its general habits and

manners, it greatly resembles the eastern Blue Jay, but is rather more

shy, while its notes are very different, and do not possess the

variety and flexibility of the _cristata_, but are in comparison harsh

and discordant. The usual note is a hoarse, deep-toned monosyllabic

squawk. Sometimes it utters a hollow sonorous chatter.

Near Carson City one of these birds had been winged by a shot, and, in

falling, alighted on the lower branches of a pine-tree. Upon an

attempt to capture it, the bird began to ascend the tree limb by limb,

at the same time uttering a perfect imitation of the cry of the

Red-tailed Hawk, evidently in the hope of frightening away his

tormentors. Dr. Newberry regards this Jay as the western counterpart

of the _C. cristata_. By its more conspicuous crest, its bold, defiant

air, and its excessively harsh and disagreeable cry, it challenges and

secures attention. He found it almost exclusively confined to the

hilly and mountainous districts, choosing in preference those covered

with pines.

Dr. Heermann found these Jays abundant and resident as far south as

Warner’s Ranch, where, though common, they were for some reason so

unusually wild and vigilant as not to be easily procurable. In

feeding, he observed that they seemed always to begin in the lower

branches and ascend, hopping from twig to twig, to the topmost point,

and, while thus employed, utter a harsh screaming note that can be

heard to a considerable distance.

This species, Dr. Cooper states, is numerous in the mountains of

California, inhabiting the whole length of the Sierra Nevada, and the

Coast Range as far south, at least, as Santa Cruz. Though showing a

decided preference for the pine forests, they sometimes in winter

frequent those of oaks. They are omnivorous, eating seeds, acorns,

nuts, insects, and in winter even potatoes and dead fish. They are at

times bold and prying, and at others very cautious and suspicious.

They soon learn to appreciate a gun, and show great sagacity in their

movements to avoid its peril. On the Columbia they lay in May, and in

California about a month earlier.

Cyanura stelleri, var. macrolopha, BAIRD.

LONG-CRESTED JAY.

_Cyanocitta macrolopha_, BAIRD, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. VII, June,

1854, 118 (Albuquerque). _? Garrulus stelleri_, SWAINSON, F.

Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 294, pl. liv (head-waters of Columbia;

figure of a bird intermediate between _C. stelleri_ and

_macrolopha_). _Cyanura macrolopha_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

582.—ELLIOT, Illust. Am. B, I, xvii.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1,

1870, 300.

SP. CHAR. Crest nearly twice the length of the bill. Tail moderately

graduated; the lateral feathers about .60 of an inch shorter than the

middle. Fourth and fifth quills longest; second shorter than the

secondaries. Head all round, throat, and forepart of the breast,

black, the crest with a gloss of blue; rest of back dark ashy-brown

with a gloss of greenish. Under parts, rump, tail-coverts, and outer

surfaces of primaries, greenish-blue; greater coverts, secondaries,

and tertials, and upper surface of tail-feathers bright blue, banded

with black; forehead streaked with opaque white, passing behind into

pale blue; a white patch over the eye. Chin grayish. Length, 12.50;

wing, 5.85; tail, 5.85; tarsus, 1.70 (8,351).

HAB. Central line of Rocky Mountains from northern border of the

United States to table-lands of Mexico; Fort Whipple, Arizona.

Young birds have the bright blue of body and black of head replaced by

a dull slate; the head unvaried.

An apparent link between this variety and _C. stelleri_ is represented

in the Smithsonian collection by three specimens from the region

towards the head-waters of the Columbia, where the respective areas of

distribution of the two overlap. In this the anterior parts of the

body are nearly as black as in _stelleri_ (much darker than

_macrolopha_), with the short crest; but the forehead (except in one

specimen) is streaked with blue, and there is a white patch over the

eye. As in _stelleri_, there are no black bars on the greater

wing-coverts. As this is an abundant form, whether permanent race or

hybrid, it may be called var. _annectens_.

HABITS. The Long-crested Jay appears to occur throughout the central

range of the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to Mexico, where it

is replaced by a closely allied species or race, the _Cyanura

coronata_ of Swainson.

Mr. Ridgway met with this Jay only among the Wahsatch and the Uintah

Mountains. They appeared to be rather common in those regions, though

far from being abundant. In their manners and in their notes they are

described as having been almost an exact counterpart of the Sierra

Nevada form. Their notes, however, are said to be not so loud nor so

coarse as those of the more western species. A nest, found by Mr.

Ridgway, June 25, 1869, in Parley’s Park, Wahsatch Mountains, was in a

small fir-tree on the edge of a wood. It was saddled on a horizontal

branch about fifteen feet from the ground, and contained six eggs. The

base of the nest was composed of coarse strong sticks, rudely put

together. Upon this was constructed a solid, firm plastering of mud of

a uniform concave shape, lined with fine wiry roots. The external

diameter is about nine inches, and the height of the nest four. The

interior is five inches in diameter, and three in depth.

The species was first described by Professor Baird, from specimens

obtained by Dr. Kennerly, who writes that he first saw this bird among

the lofty pines of the Sierra Madre in November, 1853. Leaving that

range, he did not meet with it again until his party crossed the Aztec

Mountains, in January, 1854, where it was less abundant than when

first met with. It was, for the most part, found among the cedars on

the high grounds, though occasionally seen among the clumps of large

pines that were scattered along the valley. The party did not meet

with it again.

Dr. Coues found this species a common and a resident bird in Arizona.

It was observed to be almost exclusively an inhabitant of pine woods,

and was generally to be met with only in small companies, never

congregating in the manner of Woodhouse’s Jay. He describes it as very

shy, vigilant, noisy, and tyrannical.

The eggs of _C. macrolopha_ measure 1.30 inches in length and .91 in

breadth. Their ground-color is a light sea-green. They are somewhat

sparingly spotted with fine markings of dark olive-brown, and lighter

cloudings of a purplish or violet brown. They are oblong oval in

shape, obtuse at either end, but more tapering at one end. They appear

to be a little larger than the eggs of _stelleri_, and the

ground-color is brighter, and the markings deeper and more of an olive

hue.

GENUS CYANOCITTA, STRICKLAND.

_Cyanocitta_, STRICKLAND, Annals and Mag. N. H. XV, 1845, 260.

(Type, _Garrulus californicus_, VIGORS.)

_Aphelocoma_, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 221. (Same type.)

CHAR. Head without crest. Wings and tail blue, without any bands. Back

usually with a gray patch, different from the head. Bill about as

broad as high at the base, and the culmen a little shorter than the

head. Nostrils large, nearly circular, and concealed. Tail nearly

equal to the wings, lengthened, graduated, or else shorter and nearly

even.

This genus is readily distinguished from the preceding by the entire

absence of crest and of black bars on the blue of wings and tail. The

species and races hitherto described will be found detailed in the

accompanying synopsis. The characters indicated above are of no very

great generic value, but as the group is a very natural one it will be

as well to retain it. As in _Cyanura_, the species are peculiar to the

United States and Mexico, one indeed being apparently confined to the

Peninsula of Florida.

[Line drawing: _Cyanocitta californica._

8455]

It would perhaps be not very far out of the way to consider Sections A

and B as representing in their general characters, respectively, the

types from which their subdivisions have sprung.

A. Tail longer than wings. A superciliary stripe of

whitish streaks; jugular and pectoral feathers faintly

edged with bluish, posteriorly forming an indistinct

collar, interrupted medially. Ear-coverts dusky, except in

var. _woodhousei_.

_a._ Forehead and nasal tufts hoary white; the

superciliary stripe a continuous wash of the same.

Scapulars blue like the wings; dorsal region (the

interscapulars) as light-colored as the lower parts.

C. floridana. Back and lower parts pale ashy-brown;

lower tail-coverts bright blue. Wing, 4.50; tail,

5.70; bill, 1.20 and .35; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe,

.85. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3, 8, 9, 2, 10; first,

1.80 shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, 1.50.

_Hab._ Florida (only).

_b._ Forehead and nasal tufts bright blue; superciliary

stripe composed of narrow streaks; scapulars ashy like

the back; back much darker than the lower parts.

C. californica.

Lower tail-coverts bright blue, dorsal region not

well-defined ashy; auriculars bluish, beneath

continuous pure ash. Superciliary streak well

defined. Wing, 5.15; tail, 6.00; bill, 1.35 and .30;

tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .85. Wing-formula, fourth,

fifth, and sixth equal; 7, 3, 8, 9 = 2; first, 1.80

shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, .90.

_Hab._ Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of United

States var. _woodhousei_.

Lower tail-coverts pure white; dorsal region

well-defined ashy; auriculars blackish; beneath dull

white, approaching ash on breast. Superciliary

streak indistinct. Wing, 5.65; tail, 6.00; bill,

1.20 and .35; tarsus, 1.42; middle toe, .90.

Wing-formula, 5, 6, 7, 4, 8, 3, 9, 10 = 2; first,

2.20 shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, .80.

_Hab._ Mexico (Orizaba; City of Mexico) var. _sumichrasti_.[58]

Superciliary streak sharply defined, conspicuous.

Wing, 5.00; tail, 5.60; bill, 1.20 and .37; tarsus,

1.55; middle toe, .95. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3,

8, 9, 2, 10; first, 2.10 shorter than longest.

Graduation of tail, 1.15. _Hab._ Pacific Province of

United States; Cape St. Lucas var. _californica_.

B. Tail not longer than wings, or considerably shorter. No

superciliary stripe, and no streaks on throat or jugulum.

Auriculars blue like the crown.

C. ultramarina. Lower parts whitish, conspicuously

different from the upper.

_Tail nearly, or perfectly even._

Length, 13.00; tail even; bill, 1.50; tail, 7.00.

_Hab._ Mexico var. _ultramarina_.[59]

Length, 11.50; tail very slightly rounded (graduation,

.25 only); bill, 1.28 and .35; tail, 50. Above bright

blue, dorsal region obscured slightly with ashy;

beneath dull pale ash, becoming gradually whitish

posteriorly, the crissum being pure ash. Lores blue.

Tarsus, 1.45; middle toe, .95. Wing-formula, 5, 4 = 6,

7, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2; first, 2.10 shorter than longest.

Graduation of tail, .25. _Hab._ Lower Rio Grande var. _couchi_.

_Tail considerably rounded._

Colors as in _couchi_, but dorsal region scarcely

obscured by ashy. Lores black. Wing, 7.50; tail, 7.50;

bill, 1.30 and .40; tarsus, 1.60; middle toe, .90.

Wing-formula, 5, 4, 6, 3 = 7, 8, 9, 2; first, 2.75,

shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, 1.15. _Hab._

Mexico (Orizaba, Mirador, etc.) var. _sordida_.[60]

Graduation of the colors as in _sordida_, but the

blue, instead of being a bright ultramarine, is very

much paler and duller, and with a greenish cast, the

whole dorsal region decidedly ashy; ash of the

pectoral region much paler, and throat similar,

instead of decidedly whitish, in contrast; pure white

of posterior lower parts covering whole abdomen

instead of being confined to crissum. Wing, 6.20;

tail, 5.70; bill, 1.30 and .40; tarsus, 1.50; middle

toe, .97. Wing-formula, fourth, fifth, and sixth

equal; 7, 3, 8, 9, 2; first, 2.20, shorter than

longest. Graduation of tail, .50. _Hab._ Southern

Rocky Mountains (Fort Buchanan, and Copper Mines,

Arizona) var. _arizonæ_.

C. unicolor.[61] Lower parts bright blue, like the

upper. Entirely uniform rich ultramarine-blue; lores

black. Wing, 6.70; tail, 6.70; bill, 1.30 and .50;

tarsus, 1.45; middle toe, .95. Wing-formula, 5, 6, 4, 7,

3, 8, 9, 2; first, 2.60 shorter than longest. Graduation

of tail, 1.50. _Hab._ Southern Mexico (Cordova, Mirador,

etc.); Guatemala.

In the first section of this group we see the same indication of

variation from a common type with the region that is so evident in

_Cyanura_. Thus, _Cyanocitta woodhousei_ differs from _californica_,

much as _Cyanura macrolopha_ does from _C. stelleri_ (var.

_frontalis_), in more slender bill and a greater percentage of blue;

this invading the back and under parts, the lower tail-coverts

especially. But here the parallel of modification ends, for the

Mexican representative of the species (_C. sumichrasti_) appears to

revert back to the characters of _californica_, having like it a

minimum amount of blue, though this almost obliterates the

superciliary stripe of white. In this respect there is more

resemblance to the case of _Pipilo fusca_ and its three races in the

three regions inhabited by these representative forms of _Cyanocitta

californica_; for, while the Mexican (_P. fusca_) and Californian (_P.

crissalis_) are very much alike, the one from the intervening region

(_P. mesoleuca_) is more different from the two extreme races than

they are from each other.

In the other section of the genus the relation between _arizonæ_ and

_sordida_ is a parallel to that between _Cyanura macrolopha_ and _C.

coronata_; the southern forms (_sordida_ and _coronata_) differing

principally in the greater intensity and prevalence or amount of the

blue. The relations of _couchi_ and _ultramarina_ to the two above

mentioned are yet obscure, owing to the small material at

command,—there being only two specimens of the former, and none of

the latter, in the National Museum at Washington.

[58] _Cyanocitta sumichrasti_, RIDGWAY, Rep. U. S. Geol.

Expl. 40th Par. All Mexican _Cyanocittas_ with a whitish

superciliary streak, blue edgings to jugular feathers, etc.,

are to be referred to this strongly marked race. A very

conspicuous character of this variety is the strong “hook”

to the upper mandible; the tip beyond the notch being much

elongated, or unusually “produced.” In the collection is a

specimen (60,058 ♀, Mexico, A. BOUCARD) which we have

referred to this race, but which differs in such an

important respect from all other specimens of the several

races referrible to _californica_, as extended, that it may

belong to a distinct form. Having the precise aspect of

_sumichrasti_ in regard to its upper plumage, it lacks,

however, any trace of the blue edgings and pectoral collar,

the whole lower parts being continuously uninterrupted dull

white, purer posteriorly. The appearance is such as to cause

a suspicion that it may be a link between _sumichrasti_ and

one of the races of _ultramarina_. It measures: wing, 5.50;

tail, 6.00; graduation of tail, .70.

[59] _Cyanocitta ultramarina_, (BONAP.)

STRICKLAND.—_Garrulus ultramarinus_, BONAP. J. A. N. S. IV,

1825, 386 (not of Audubon).

[60] _Cyanocitta sordida_, (SWAINS.) (not of BAIRD, Birds N.

Am., which is _arizonæ_).—SCLATER, Cat. Am. B. 1862, 143.

_Garrulus sordidus_, SWAINS. Phil. Mag. 1827, i, 437.

[61] _Cyanocitta unicolor_, (DU BUS) BONAP. Consp. p.

378.—_Cyanocorax unicolor_, DU BUS, Bull. Acad. Brux. XIV,

pt. 2, p. 103.

Cyanocitta floridana, BONAP.

FLORIDA JAY.

_Corvus floridanus_, BARTRAM, Travels, 1791, 291.—AUD. Orn. Biog.

I, 1831, 444, pl. lxxxvii. _Garrulus floridanus_, BON. Am. Orn.

II, 1828, 11, pl. xi.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 230.—AUD. Syn.

1839, 154.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 118, pl. ccxxxiii.

_Cyanurus floridanus_, SWAINSON, F. B. A. II, 1831, 495.

_Cyanocorax floridanus_, BON. List, 1838. _Cyanocitta

floridana_, BON. Consp. 1850, 377.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

586.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla. 298. _Aphelocoma floridana_, CABANIS,

Mus. Hein. 1851, 22. _Garrulus cyaneus_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict.

XII, 1817, 476 (not described). _? Garrulus cærulescens_,

VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict. XII, 1817, 480.—ORD. J. A. N. Sc. I,

1818, 347. _Pica cærulescens_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, _Pica_,

No. 11.

SP. CHAR. Tail much graduated; lateral feathers nearly 1.50 inches

shortest. Tail an inch longer than the wings. Above blue, including

scapulars; interscapular region and back brownish-ash, the former

lighter. Forehead and sides of the crown, including the nasal

feathers, hoary white. Sides of head and neck blue; the former tinged

with blackish, the latter sending a streaked collar of the same

entirely across the breast; region anterior to this collar dirty

white, streaked on the edges of the feathers with blue; rest of under

parts dirty whitish-brown; under tail-coverts blue, the tibia tinged

with the same. Length, 11.00; wing, 4.50; tail, 5.70; tarsus, 1.45.

HAB. Florida only, and quite local.

HABITS. This beautiful species appears to be exclusively confined to

the peninsula of Florida, and there is no authentic evidence that it

has ever been found outside of the limits of that State. The statement

of Bonaparte, that these birds are found in the States of Louisiana

and Kentucky, has never been confirmed, and Mr. Audubon, who was for

many years a resident of both States and familiar with the birds of

each, was very positive the statement was without foundation. It has

never been observed even in Georgia or Alabama, and Mr. Nuttall states

that it is not found in any part of West Florida.

Mr. Allen, in his recent paper on the winter birds of East Florida,

speaking of this species, states that it is numerous in the scrub, but

does not appear to frequent the pine woods, the hummocks, or the

swamps. He saw none along the St. John’s, except at Blue Springs, but

they occur in numbers a few miles back from the river.

Dr. Bryant, in his Notes on the birds of Florida, mentions that this

species is tolerably plentiful in the vicinity of Enterprise. He

regarded it as exceedingly interesting on account of its limited

geographical distribution. With no apparent obstacle to its movements,

it is yet confined to a small part of the peninsula of Florida, its

area of distribution north and south not exceeding three degrees of

latitude, if so much. He saw none north of St. Augustine, and none

south of Jupiter’s Inlet. So far as he observed them, they were

exclusively confined to the growth of scrub-oak, which in many places

is so entangled with creeping plants that it is impossible to walk

through without cutting a path. This growth is generally found on

elevated ridges running parallel to the sea-coast. The most extensive

of these, near Enterprise, is about three miles wide, and eighty feet

above the lake.

The flight of this species is said by Mr. Audubon to be performed at a

short distance from the ground, and to consist either of a single

sailing sweep, as it passes from one tree to another, or of continuous

flappings with a slightly undulating motion, in the manner of the

Canada Jay. Its notes are described as softer than those of the Blue

Jay, and more frequently uttered. Its motions are also quicker and

more abrupt. Its food is said to consist of snails, which it collects

on the ground, insects, and various kinds of fruits and berries. It is

also charged with being very destructive of eggs and young birds.

The Florida Jay is said to be easily kept in confinement, feeding

readily on dried or fresh fruit and the kernels of various nuts, and

soon appears to be reconciled to its loss of liberty. It secures its

food between its feet, and breaks it into pieces before swallowing it.

In this way it feeds on the acorn of the live-oak, snails, and the

seeds of the sword-palmetto.

The nest of this Jay is formed of dry sticks, placed across each

other, and, although rounded in form, is so lightly made that the

birds may be seen through its interstices. It is lined with fibrous

rootlets. Only one brood is raised in a season. Audubon’s descriptions

of its eggs are inaccurate, and only applicable to those of the Blue

Jay.

Mr. Audubon observed a pair of these birds in confinement in New

Orleans. They were fed upon rice and dry fruit. At dessert they were

allowed their liberty, when they would fly to the table, feed on the

almonds given them, and drink claret diluted with water. They

attempted to mimic various sounds, but did so very imperfectly.

Mr. Nuttall states that at the approach of winter these birds retire

to the south of St. Augustine. He regards their voice as less harsh

than that of the Blue Jay, and states that they have a variety of

notes, some of which are probably imitations, and are said to resemble

the song of the Wood Thrush and the calls of the common Jay.

An egg of the Florida Jay before me is of a rounded oval shape, being

nearly equally obtuse at either end. The ground-color is a light

bluish-gray, marked almost exclusively at the larger end with a few

small spots of a light rufous-brown. It has no near resemblance to the

eggs of the California Jay, nor to those of any other Jay that I have

seen. It measures 1.05 inches by .80.

In its flight and action, Dr. Bryant thought the Florida Jay resembled

the Mocking-Bird. It has none of the restless, suspicious manner of

the Blue Jay. He never heard it utter more than a single note, this

being much softer than the usual cry of the Blue Jay; its song he

regarded as rather monotonous. It seldom flies more than a short

distance at a time, and seems to trust for protection to the

difficulty of access to its abode. It also evinces a great partiality

for particular localities. Generally only a single pair is seen at a

time, though in one place he has seen three pairs together. It is not

fond of civilization, and is seldom known to frequent the vicinity of

dwellings.

A nest found by Dr. Bryant on the 15th of April was built in a

scrub-oak about three feet from the ground. It was made of small

twigs, compactly and carefully lined with fibres of the dwarf

palmetto, that had apparently been brought a distance of half a mile.

The cavity measured about five inches in breadth and one and a half in

depth. The nest contained three eggs of a light blue, sparingly

sprinkled with rufous, the spots being larger and more numerous

towards the larger end. Another nest, found a few days later,

contained five eggs of a more neutral tint, with the spots darker,

larger, and more evenly distributed.

Cyanocitta californica, STRICKLAND.

CALIFORNIA JAY.

_Garrulus californicus_, VIGORS, Zoöl. Beechey’s Voyage, 1839, 21,

pl. v. _Cyanocitta californica_, STRICKLAND, Ann. Mag. XV,

1845, 342.—GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. 2d series, I, Dec. 1847,

45.—BON. Conspectus, 1850, 377.—NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep. VI,

IV, 1857, 85.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 584.—HEERM. X, _S_,

55.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 302. _Cyanocorax californicus_,

GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. III, Ap. 1847, 201. _Aphelocoma

californica_, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 221.—BON. Comptes

Rendus, XXXVII, Nov. 1853, 828; Notes Orn. Delattre. _Corvus

ultramarinus_, AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 456, pl. ccclxii (not

_Garrulus ultramarinus_, BON.). _Garrulus ultramarinus_, AUD.

Syn. 1839, 154.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 115, pl. ccxxxii (not

of BONAPARTE). _Cyanocitta superciliosa_, STRICKLAND, Ann. Mag.

XV, 1845, 260 (type of genus _Cyanocitta_). “_Corvus

palliatus_, DRAPIEZ,” BONAP.

SP. CHAR. Width of bill at base of lower mandible rather more than

half the length of culmen. Lateral tail-feathers about an inch the

shortest. Tail an inch longer than the wings. General color above,

including the surface of the wings, bright blue, without bars. The

whole back, including to some extent the scapulars, brownish-ash, very

faintly glossed with blue in the adult. À streaked white superciliary

line from a little anterior to the eye as far as the occiput. Sides of

the head and neck blue, the region around and behind the eye,

including lores and most of ear-coverts, black. The blue of the sides

of the neck extends across the forepart of the breast, forming a

crescent, interrupted in the middle. The under parts anterior to the

crescent white, the feathers edged with blue; behind it dull white;

the sides tinged with brown. Length, 12.25; wing, 5.00; tail, 6.15;

tarsus, 1.55. (No. 2,841.)

HAB. Pacific Province from Columbia River to Cape St. Lucas; Carson

City, Nevada (RIDGWAY).

[Illustration: _Cyanocitta californica._]

Specimens from Cape St. Lucas are rather smaller and perhaps whiter

beneath than elsewhere; those from the eastern slope of Sierra Nevada

are very large. Upon a careful comparison, we find that the supposed

specimens of _C. californica_ in the Smithsonian collection from

Mexico (Orizaba, etc.) constitute a quite different form,

characterized by very indistinct superciliary white and bluish edges

to throat and jugular feathers, and especially by the lengthened

wings, which average 5.75 inches instead of 5.00. In general respects

the resemblance, as suggested by Sclater, is to _californica_, and not

to _woodhousei_. The dorsal patch is very distinct.

[Illustration: PLATE XL.

1. Cyanocitta californica. ♂ Nev., 56642.

2. ” ” _var._ sumichrasti. ♂ Orizaba, 42129.

3. ” woodhousii. ♂ Nev., 53647.

4. ” floridana. ♂ Fla., 13734.]

One Mexican specimen (8,465 from Real del Monte?), presented by Mr.

John Gould, differs again in having the dorsal patch obscured by a

bluish wash; an unusual amount of blue edging to the throat and

jugular feathers, and a dull brownish tinge to the belly. It almost

suggests the possibility of a hybrid form between _sumichrasti_ and

_ultramarina_.

HABITS. The California Jay appears to be a Pacific coast species,

occurring from the Columbia River southward to Cape St. Lucas, but not

found in the interior at any considerable distance from the coast. Mr.

Ridgway speaks of it as the Valley Jay of California, having been

observed by him in abundance only among the oaks of the Sacramento

Valley, the brushwood of the ravines, and the scattered pines of the

foot-hills along the western base of the Sierra Nevada. It was also

quite common, in April, in the vicinity of Carson City, where he found

it breeding. Its notes and manners, he adds, are very similar to those

of the Woodhouse Jay, belonging to the wooded regions of the interior,

but the shrill cries of this species are even more piercing. There is,

moreover, something in its appearance, caused by the sharp contrast of

the bright blue, the light ash, and the pure white colors, by which it

may be distinguished at a glance from the more uniformly colored

_woodhousei_.

Dr. Heerman speaks of it as frequenting to some extent the same

districts as Steller’s Jay, but also found in greater abundance

throughout the valleys. He likewise describes it as noisy, alert, and

cunning in its habits, wild and wary, and yet often seeking the

habitations of man, near which to rear its young, drawn thither by the

abundance of food found in such localities. Their nests, he states,

are built in a thick-leaved bush, or on the lower branches of an oak,

at but little height from the ground. They are constructed of twigs,

and are lined with fine rootlets. The eggs, four in number, are, he

says, emerald-green in color, profusely dotted with umber-brown spots.

Dr. Newberry states that he found the trees and the thickets bordering

the streams in the valleys the favorite haunts of the California Jay.

As his party ascended among the evergreen forests of the higher

grounds, and passed northeasterly from the Sacramento Valley, these

birds were no longer met with, and long before reaching the Oregon

line they lost sight of it altogether. Nor did they meet with it again

until their return to California. This Jay, he adds, has all the

sprightliness and restlessness of the family, but is less noisy, and

its notes are far more agreeable than those of Steller’s Jay, by which

it is replaced at the north.

The Smithsonian Museum has a specimen of this species obtained on the

Columbia by Townsend, and Mr. Nuttall mentions that early in October,

on arriving at the forests of the Columbia, near Fort Vancouver, he

met with it in company with Steller’s Jay. They were breeding in the

dark pine woods, and by the 15th of June they were feeding their fully

fledged young. He also states that they were found as far north as

Fraser’s River, migrating to the south at the approach of winter.

Without questioning the correctness of this statement, it is worthy of

mention that these birds have not been met there by more recent

collectors, and that Dr. Newberry nowhere met with them in Oregon. Dr.

Cooper suggests that, since then, the increased severity of the

winters may have driven them permanently farther south.

Mr. Nuttall describes its habits as very much like those of the Blue

Jay. It usually flies out to the tops of the tallest pines, jerks its

tail, and perches playfully on some extreme branch, where, as if in

anger, it calls _woit, woit-woit_, with an occasional recognition note

of _twee-twee_. When pursued, it retreats to the shade of the loftiest

branches. It feeds on insects, acorns, which it breaks up, and pine

seeds. He describes it as a graceful, active, and shy bird, with a

note much less harsh and loud than that of Steller’s Jay.

Dr. Cooper remarks that this species is one of the most common and

conspicuous of the birds of the State of California. They frequent

every locality in which oak-trees are found, even within the limits of

large towns, where they enter gardens and audaciously plunder the

fruit. They have all the usual cunning of their tribe, and when

alarmed become very quiet, and conceal themselves in the thick

foliage. They are usually noisy and fearless, and their odd cries,

grotesque actions, and bright plumage make them general favorites in

spite of their depredations. They are also said to have a talent for

mimicry, besides notes to express their various wants and ideas.

They breed abundantly throughout the western parts of California, and

construct a large and strong nest of twigs, roots, and grass. These

are placed in a low tree or bush. They lay about five eggs, which Dr.

Cooper describes as dark green marked with numerous pale brown

blotches and spots, and measure 1.80 by 1.04 inches. At San Diego he

found these eggs laid as early as April 5.

This Jay inhabits the Coast Range of mountains to their summit, south

of San Francisco, and the Sierra Nevada as far as the oaks extend, or

to an elevation of from 1,000 to 5,000 feet. Dr. Cooper saw none on

the east side of the Sierra Nevada in latitude 39°.

He describes their flight as slow and laborious, on account of their

short wings, and states that they never fly far at a time. He also

accuses them of being very destructive to the eggs of smaller birds,

hunting for them in the spring, and watching the movements of other

birds with great attention.

Mr. Xantus found these birds very abundant at Cape St. Lucas, being,

like all the other resident species there, much smaller than those

occurring in more northern localities. Their habits are said to be

very much the same.

This species was taken in winter near Oaxaca, Mexico, by Mr. Boucard.

Four eggs of this species from different parts of California present

the following measurements: 1.20 × 0.85; 1.10 × 0.80; 1.13 × 0.80;

1.05 × 0.80. The measurements given by Dr. Cooper we are confident

must be a mistake. Their ground-color is a bright, but not a dark,

emerald-green; and they are marked and blotched with faint

purplish-brown, and deeper spots of dark umber. These spots are

sparingly distributed, and are chiefly about the larger end. In one

they are wholly of a light violet-brown. These eggs are of a perfectly

oval shape.

Mr. Charles D. Gibbes, of Stockton, writes that he found in a garden

in that city a nest built by a pair of these birds that had become

half domesticated. It was placed in a very thick arbor of honeysuckle.

The body of the nest was composed of clippings from a hedge of osage

orange, with thorns on them half an inch long. These twigs were tied

and interlaced with twine and bits of cotton strings. Within this

frame was a layer of fine weeds and grasses nicely arranged, the whole

lined with horse-hair. The nest was found in May, and contained five

eggs. The parents kept a good deal about the kitchen door, and would

steal anything they had an opportunity to take. They made use of an

old nest in the same garden as a receptacle for their stolen goods;

among other things was found a large slice of bread-and-butter.

Cyanocitta californica, var. woodhousei, BAIRD.

WOODHOUSE’S JAY.

_Cyanocitta woodhousei_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 585, pl.

lix.—IB. Mex. B. II, Birds, 20, pl. xxi.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1,

1870, 304.

SP. CHAR. Size and general appearance of _C. californica_. Bill

slender. Graduation of tail one inch. Blue, with a very obscure ashy

patch on the back. Sides of the head and neck and incomplete pectoral

collar, blue; throat streaked with the same. Breast and belly uniform

brownish-ash, glossed with blue; under tail-coverts bright blue. Sides

of head, including lores, black, glossed with blue below; a streaked

white superciliary line. Length, 11.50; wing, 5.35; tail, 6.10;

tarsus, 1.60. _Young._ All the blue, except that of the wings and

tail, replaced by dull ash.

HAB. Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of United States; north to

Idaho and Wyoming (RIDGWAY); south to Northern Mexico; east to Wyoming

and Colorado.

The bluish wash on the back nearly obscuring the dorsal patch, the

general ashy tinge of the under parts, the decided blue under

tail-coverts, and the longer and much slenderer bill, distinguish this

form from _californica_, although probably both are geographical races

of the same species.

HABITS. This bird was first met with by Dr. Woodhouse among the San

Francisco Mountains of New Mexico, and was given by him, in his Report

of the Sitgreaves Expedition, as the California Jay. He states in

regard to it, that wherever he found the piñon, or nut-pine (_Pinus

edulis_), growing in New Mexico, this bird was sure to be there in

great numbers, feeding upon the fruit of those trees. Among the men it

was known as the piñon bird. Its notes are said to be harsh and

disagreeable. It was extremely restless, and was continually in

motion, flying from tree to tree, uttering its well-known cries.

Mr. Ridgway calls this a very interesting species, and states that it

was found very abundant in the fertile cañons of the West Humboldt

Mountains, as well as in all the extensive nut-pine and cedar woods to

the eastward. On the Toyaba and East Humboldt Mountains, and the

extensive piñon woods in Southern Idaho, it was equally common. In

Utah, in the cañons of the Wahsatch Mountains, it was occasionally

seen, though oftener observed in the valley of the Weber. When

unmolested, this bird is, he states, very unsuspicious, and anything

unusual at once excites its curiosity. Often when at work, in camp,

skinning birds, on the edge of bushes, one of them would approach

within a few feet, and quietly watch every movement. At Unionsville

they were quite common in the gardens and around the door-yards of the

town, and were very familiar and unsuspicious. Their cries greatly

resembled those of the California Jay, and consisted of a repetition

of harsh screeching notes.

This species, according to Dr. Coues, is a resident and a very

abundant species in Arizona, where it is one of the most

characteristic species. It was found in all situations, but seemed to

shun dense pine woods, and to prefer to keep on the open hillsides,

among the scrub-oaks, etc. In winter it collects in rather large

flocks, sometimes as many as fifty together. They are, however,

usually seen in small groups of six or seven individuals. They are

said to be a restless, vigilant, shy, and noisy species.

Mr. C. E. Aiken found this bird a common and resident species in

Colorado. He met with it along the foot of the mountains, in brush

thickets, in which they also breed. The base and periphery of a nest

found by him were composed of dead twigs, intermingled within with

fine rootlets and horsehair. The eggs, four or five in number, are

said to be laid about the first of May. They have a ground-color of a

light bluish-green, and marked with reddish-brown specks, thickest at

the larger end. They are of a rounded oval shape, much more pointed at

one end, and rounded at the other, and average 1.06 inches in length

by .80 of an inch in breadth.

Cyanocitta ultramarina, var. arizonæ, RIDGWAY.

_Cyanocitta sordida_ (not of SWAINS.!), BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,

587, pl. lx. f. 1.—IB. Mex. B. II, Birds, 21, pl. xxii, f.

1.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 305. _Cyanocitta sordida_ var.

_arizonæ_, RIDGWAY, Rep. U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par.

[Illustration: PLATE XLI.

1. Cyanocitta sordida. Orizaba, 38209.

2. ” ” _var._ arizonæ. ♂ Ariz., 18279.

3. Perisoreus canadensis. ♂ Nova Scotia, 26940.

4. ” ” _var._ capitalis. ♂ Colorado, 51642.]

SP. CHAR. Bill short, thick; half as high as long. Wing considerably

longer than the tail, which is slightly graduated (.50 of an inch).

Upper surface (including whole side of head to the throat) light

sky-blue, the whole dorsal region inclining to pure bluish-ashy.

Beneath fine, uniform, pale ash for anterior half (including the

throat), this gradually fading into white on the posterior portions

(including whole abdomen), the lower tail-coverts being pure white.

Lores blue. Length, 13.00; wing, 6.20; tail, 5.70; culmen, 1.30; depth

of bill, .40; tarsus, 1.50; middle toe, .97. Fourth, fifth, and sixth

quills equal and longest, second shorter than ninth; first 2.20

shorter than longest. (18,279, Fort Buchanan, Arizona, December; Dr.

Irwin.) _Immature_ (8,469 ♂, Copper Mines, Arizona). The blue, except

that of the wings and tail, replaced by dull ash; the blue feathers

appearing in scattered patches.

HAB. Arizona (Copper Mines, J. H. Clark; and Fort Buchanan, Dr. Irwin,

U. S. A.).

The nearest ally of this race is the var. _sordida_ of Mexico, which,

however, differs in many important respects; the differences between

the two being giving in the synopsis (page 880), it is unnecessary to

repeat them here. In both there is a tendency towards a party-colored

bill; each example of the northern style, and most of those of the

southern, having more or less whitish on the lower mandible.

Nothing definite is known as to the habits or reproduction of this

bird.

Cyanocitta ultramarina, var. couchi, BAIRD.

ULTRAMARINE JAY.

_Garrulus ultramarinus_, BONAP. J. A. N. Sc. IV, 1825, 386 (not of

AUDUBON).—TEMM. Pl. Col. II, 439. _Cyanocitta ultramarina_,

STRICKLAND, Ann. & Mag. XV, 1845, 260.—GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. 2d

Ser. I, 1847, 45.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 588, pl. 60, f. 2.—IB.

Mex. B. II, Birds 21, pl. xxii. _Cyanogarrulus ultramarinus_,

BON. Consp. 1850, 378. _Cyanocitta couchi_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am.

1858, 588.

SP. CHAR. Tail rounded, but little graduated; lateral feather about a

quarter of an inch shortest. Wings longer than the tail; when closed,

reaching nearly to its middle. Above and on sides of head and neck

bright blue; the lores blackish; the middle of the back slightly

duller, the tips of some of the feathers dark brown. Beneath

brownish-ash, paler on the chin and towards the anal region, which,

with the crissum, is white. No trace of white or black on the sides of

the head, nor of any streaks or collar on the breast. Length, (fresh,)

11.50; wing, 6.00; tail, (dried,) 5.40; tarsus, 1.50.

HAB. South side of valley of Rio Grande, near the coast, and

southward.

This well-marked species is quite different in form from the _C.

californica_, having a shorter, more even tail, much longer wings, and

stouter feet. The absence of any collar or streaks on the breast and

throat, of black or white on the side of the head, and of decided ash

on the back, are very well marked features. There is also much more

green in the blue of the head.

As suggested in the P. R. R. Report, the birds collected by Lieutenant

Couch at Monterey, Mexico, although agreeing almost exactly with the

original description of Bonaparte, are much smaller, and perhaps

entitled to recognition as a separate form. The tail is nearly two

inches less, 5.40 instead of 7.00, or over.

HABITS. The Ultramarine Jay is a well-marked species, and is

specifically quite distinct from the _C. californica_. It is found in

the valley of the Rio Grande, and thence southward and eastward in the

northern provinces of Mexico. Though we know of no specimens having

been procured on this side of the boundary line, their occurrence is

quite probable. Lieutenant Couch met with this species near Monterey,

Mexico, and from thence west to Parras. He describes it as being

gregarious and eminently Jay-like in its habits. They are very noisy

and vociferous in their outcries, and three or four of them suffice to

keep a whole forest in an uproar. Near Guyapuco a large snake

(_Georgia obsoleta_) was seen pursued by three or four of this

species. The reptile was making every effort to escape from their

combined attacks, and would, no doubt, have been killed by them, had

they not been interfered with. The cause of so much animosity against

the snake was explained when, on opening its stomach, three young of

this species, about two thirds grown, were found.

In the Department of Vera Cruz, Sumichrast found what he calls _C.

ultramarina_ in company with _Cyanura coronata_ and _Cyanocitta nana_,

“_californica_” (_Sumichrasti_), and _sordida_, occurring in the

alpine region, and with the three first named restricted to that

locality. The limit of their extension is about that of the alpine

region, that is, from an elevation of about 4,500 feet to the height

of 10,500 feet. The _sordida_ is also found on the plateau.

GENUS XANTHOURA, BONAP.

_Xanthoura_, BONAPARTE, Consp. Av. 1850. (Type, “_Corvus

peruvianus_, GM.”)

[Line drawing: _Xanthoura luxuosa._

4052]

CHAR. Head without crest. Throat black. Lateral tail-feathers bright

yellow. Bill very stout, rather higher than broad; culmen curved from

the base. Nostrils rather small, oval, concealed by a nasal tuft

varying in length with species. Tail longer than the wings; graduated.

The wings concave, rounded; the secondaries nearly as long as the

primaries. Legs very stout; hind claw about half the total length of

the toe.

The genus _Xanthoura_ is composed of three so-called species, of

different geographical distribution, and exhibits a progressive change

from one to the other, with variation of latitude that enforces assent

to the hypothesis of their all belonging to one primitive form. These

differences may be expressed as follows:—

COMMON CHARACTERS. Nasal tufts, patch on side of lower jaw

and one above eye, (both eyelids,) bright blue; remainder of

face and throat black. Back, and upper surface of wings and

tail (the four central feathers), green, the latter tinged

with blue at end; the rest of tail-feathers bright yellow.

Belly and crissum varying from bright yellow to green.

Forehead yellowish or whitish.

_a._ Nasal tufts short, only covering the nostrils; whole

top of head (except anteriorly) and nape bright blue.

1. Body beneath, and crissum, green. _Hab._ Mexico and

South Texas var. _luxuosa_.

2. Body beneath, and crissum, yellow, sides more

greenish. _Hab._ Guatemala and Honduras var. _guatemalensis_.

_b._ Nasal tuft elongated, forming an anterior crest, the

feathers reaching far beyond nostrils. Whole top of head

pale heavy yellow, glossed behind with bluish.

3. Body beneath, and crissum, very bright

gamboge-yellow. _Hab._ Colombia, Ecuador, Bogota, and

Bolivia var. _incas_.

Thus, starting with the green-bellied _luxuosa_ of the Rio Grande, we

come to the yellow-bellied _guatemalensis_; but intermediate

localities show different proportions of the two colors. The nasal

tufts in the first do not extend beyond the nasal fossæ; and the

frontal yellowish is very narrow. In the second these tufts reach

beyond the fossæ, and the frontal yellowish is more extended. In

_incas_ again the nasal tufts have reached their maximum, while the

frontal yellowish extends over the whole cap, leaving only a trace of

blue on the nape.

Xanthoura incas, var. luxuosa, BONAP.

GREEN JAY.

_Garrulus luxuosus_, LESSON, Rev. Zoöl. April, 1839, 100.

_Cyanocorax luxuosus_, DU BUS, Esquisses Ornithologiques, IV,

1848, pl. xviii.—CASSIN, Illust. I, 1853, I, pl. i. _Xanthoura

luxuosa_, BON. Consp. 1850, 380.—CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851,

224.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 589. _Pica chloronota_, WAGLER,

Isis, 1829, 750 (young male; name belongs to _Corvus

peruvianus_, GM.). _Cyanocorax cyanicapillus_, CABANIS, Fauna

Peruana, 1844-46, 233 (note). _Cyanocorax yncas_, “BODDÆRT,”

LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, April, 1851, 115 (first added here

to fauna of United States).

SP. CHAR. Wings shorter than the tail, which is much graduated, the

lateral feathers 1.25 inches shorter. Above green; beneath yellow,

glossed continuously with green; inside of wings and outer four

tail-feathers straw-yellow; rest of tail feathers green, glossed with

blue. Sides of the head, and beneath from the bill to the forepart of

the breast, velvet-black. Crown, nape, and a short maxillary stripe

running up to the eye and involving the upper eyelid, brilliant blue;

the nostril-feathers rather darker; the sides of the forehead whitish.

Bill black; feet lead-color. Length, 11.00; wing, 4.75; tail, 5.40;

tarsus, 1.65.

HAB. Valley of Rio Grande, of Texas, and southward.

As remarked above, the passage into the yellow-bellied _guatemalensis_

is gradual as we proceed south; and the latter, and perhaps even the

_incas_, can only be considered as fellow races of a common original

species.

[Illustration: _Xanthoura luxuosa._]

HABITS. Within the limits of the United States this beautiful species

has thus far been only met with in Southeastern Texas in the lower

valley of the Rio Grande. It was first described in 1839, by M.

Lesson, a French naturalist, from a Mexican specimen, and in 1851 was

first brought to our notice as a bird of the United States by Mr. Geo.

N. Lawrence of New York. Specimens of this bird were obtained by the

party of the Mexican Boundary Survey, and by Lieutenant Couch on the

Rio Grande, at Matamoras, New Leon, and San Diego, Mexico. The only

note as to its habits by Lieutenant Couch is to the effect that it

eats seeds and insects.

The late Dr. Berlandier of Matamoras obtained specimens of this bird

in the vicinity of that city, which were found among his collections.

Among his manuscript notes occurs a description of the plumage and

habits of this species, which he had described under the name of _Pica

cervantesii_. In this he states that this bird inhabits the whole

eastern coast of Mexico, but that he has only met with it on the banks

of the Rio Bravo del Norte, in the vicinity of Matamoras. It is said

to be both carnivorous and graminivorous, and comes about the houses

in search of the refuse. Although it can swallow whole grains of corn,

before eating it breaks them with its beak, holding them between its

claws, in the manner of birds of prey, and biting with great force. It

is commonly known as _Pajaro verde_, or Greenbird.

Mr. Dresser states that this species was common on the lower Rio

Grande during the winter, but was not found on the Upper Rio Grande or

in Texas, except as a straggler from Mexico.

This bird, Mr. Sumichrast states, is common throughout the Department

of Vera Cruz, where it is generally known by the name of _Verde

detoca_ and _Sonaja_. It is said to be one of the birds most generally

diffused throughout the whole department. It inhabits both the hot and

the temperate regions, and is found even at the foot of the alpine, to

the altitude of nearly six thousand feet above the sea. It is also

said to be abundant in other parts of Mexico. It was observed to be

quite numerous on the _Tierra templada_, or table-lands, and also

among the hills that bound the plains of Perote and Puebla on the

east, by Mr. William S. Pease, a naturalist who was with General

Scott’s army in its campaign in Mexico. Mr. Pease stated that it lived

on the sides of the hills throughout the year, and that its local name

was _Pepe verde_.

Colonel George A. McCall, Inspector-General of the United States Army,

was the first person to collect these birds within our limits. He

obtained them in the forests that border the Rio Grande on the

southeastern frontier of Texas. There he found them all mated in the

month of May, and he felt no doubt that they had their nests in the

extensive and almost impenetrable thickets of mimosa, commonly called

chaparral. From the jealousy and pugnacity which these birds

manifested on the approach, or appearance even, of the large

boat-tailed Blackbirds of that country (_Quiscalus macrurus_), which

were nesting in great numbers in the vicinity, Colonel McCall was

satisfied that the Jays were at that time also engaged in the duties

of incubation and rearing their young. In character and temperament

these birds appeared to be very active and lively, though less noisy

than some other species of the family. Their gay plumage was exhibited

to great advantage as they flitted from tree to tree, or dashed boldly

in pursuit of such of their more plainly attired neighbors as ventured

to intrude upon their domain.

Captain J. P. McCown, also quoted by Mr. Cassin, furnishes some

additional observations in regard to these birds. He states that

during the several years that he was in Texas, he frequently saw these

Jays, but never met with them above Ringgold Barracks, or north of the

woods that skirt the Rio Grande. They seemed to prefer the acacia

groves which have sprung up where the ground has been overflowed. He

regards it as a rather cautious bird. He observed nests high up in the

trees above mentioned, which he supposes belong to this species,

though this was never positively ascertained. He had no doubt that

they breed in Texas.

GENUS PERISOREUS, BONAP.

_Perisoreus_, BONAP. Saggio di una dist. met. 1831. (Type, _Corvus

canadensis?_)

_Dysornithia_, SWAINSON, F. B. Am. II, 1831, 495. (Same type.)

CHAR. Feathers lax and full, especially on the back, and of very dull

colors, without any blue. Head without distinct crest. Bill very

short; broader than high. Culmen scarcely half the length of the head;

straight to near the tip, then slightly curved; gonys more curved than

culmen. Bill notched at tip. Nostrils round, covered by bristly

feathers. Tail about equal to the wings; graduated. Tarsi rather

short; but little longer than the middle toe. Plumage very soft, and

without any lustre.

The Canada Jay has a near ally in a species of northern Europe and

Siberia,—the Siberian Jay (_P. infaustus_). In size and proportions

the two are quite identical, there being about the same proportionate

length of wing and tail, and a general correspondence in the minutiæ

of external anatomy. In colors, however, they differ entirely; the _P.

infaustus_ having the head darker than the body, and uniform (instead

of the contrary), and in having the lower primary and lower feathers

of the greater coverts, as well as the greater part of the tail,

bright rufous.

A. Dusky nuchal hood reaching forward to, or in front of,

the eyes; plumbeous-black.

_Dorsal feathers with white shafts in old and

young. Tail-feathers not distinctly paler at ends._

1. White frontal patch narrower than length of the bill;

blending gradually with the blackish of the crown. Upper

parts umber-brownish. Wing, 5.50; tail, 5.40; bill, .90

and .30. _Young._ Entirely plumbeous-brown, feathers of

head above bordered with paler. Beneath paler, whitish

brown. _Hab._ Oregon, Washington Territory, British

Columbia, etc. var. _obscurus_.

_Dorsal feathers without white shafts in old or

young. Tail-feathers broadly tipped with dull

white._

2. White frontal patch much broader than length of bill;

abruptly defined, with a convex outline behind, against

the dusky of the occiput. Upper parts plumbeous, with a

slight brownish cast. Wing, 5.25; tail, 5.80; bill, .95

and .35. _Young._ Entirely uniform dark plumbeous. _Hab._

Canada, Maine, and Labrador to the Yukon var. _canadensis_.

B. Dusky nuchal hood not reaching to the eyes, but

confined to the nape; bluish-plumbeous.

3. White frontal patch covering whole crown, melting

gradually into the ashy of the nape; upper parts

bluish-ashy. Wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; bill, 1.00 and .31.

_Young._ Bluish-plumbeous, inclining to ashy-white on

the crown and cheeks. _Hab._ Rocky Mountains of United

States var. _capitalis_.

[Line drawing: _Perisoreus canadensis._

18440 8452]

In the more slender form, longer and narrower bill, and paler tints

with a predominance of the light colors, of the var. _capitalis_,

compared with the typical, or standard, var. _canadensis_, we see the

peculiar impression of the middle region; while in the var.

_obscurus_, the more dusky tints, and predominance of darker colors,

the influence of the well-known law affecting colors in birds of the

northwest coast region is seen.

Perisoreus canadensis, BONAP.

CANADA JAY; WHISKEY-JACK; MOOSE-BIRD.

_Corvus canadensis_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 158.—FORSTER, Phil.

Trans. LXII, 1772, 382.—WILSON, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 33, pl.

xxi.—BON. Obs. 1824, No. 42.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 53; V,

1839, 208, pl. cvii. _Garrulus canadensis_, BON. (Saggio,

1831?) Syn. 1828, 58.—SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831,

295.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 232.—AUD. Syn. 1839, 155.—IB.

Birds Am. IV, 1842, 121, pl. ccxxxiv. _Dysornithia canadensis_,

SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, Appendix. _Perisoreus

canadensis_, BON. List, 1838.—IB. Conspectus, 1850, 375.—CAB.

Mus. Hein. 1851, 219.—NEWBERRY, Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, IV,

1857, 85.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 590.—COUES, P. A. N. S.

1861, 226.—SAMUELS, 366. _Garrulus fuscus_, VIEILLOT, Nouv.

Dict. XII, 1817, 479. _Pica nuchalis_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827

(Pica No. 14). _Garrulus trachyrrhynchus_, SWAINSON, F.

Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 296, pl. lv (young). “_Coracias mexicanus_,

TEMMINCK,” GRAY.

[Illustration: _Perisoreus canadensis._]

SP. CHAR. Tail graduated; lateral feathers about one inch shortest.

Wings a little shorter than the tail. Head and neck and forepart of

breast white. A rather sooty plumbeous nuchal patch, becoming darker

behind, from the middle of the cap to the back, from which it is

separated by an interrupted whitish collar. Rest of upper parts dark

ashy-plumbeous; the outer primaries margined, the secondaries,

tertials, and tail-feathers obscurely tipped with white. Beneath

smoky-gray. Crissum whitish. Bill and feet black. Length, 10.70; wing,

5.75; tail, 6.00; tarsus, 1.40.

HAB. Eastern Northern America into the northern part of United States;

British America to Upper Yukon.

The young of this species are everywhere of a dull sooty-plumbeous,

lighter on the middle of the belly, and more bluish-plumbeous on the

wings and tail. With increasing age the region about the base of the

bill whitens.

There is a decided bluish cast to the plumbeous of the tail. The white

frontal patch has a convex posterior outline, and is abruptly defined

against the blackish of the occiput and nape.

All specimens from Canada and the Northeastern United States, to the

interior of British America, are referrible to this variety; in the

Yukon Territory specimens show a tendency to var. _obscurus_ of the

northwest coast, having a narrower whitish frontal patch.

HABITS. The Canada Jay was procured at Fort Simpson by Mr. Kennicott

in August, September, and December, and at the same point by Mr. Ross

in March and April, in the years 1860 and 1861. It was found breeding

in May at Anderson River Fort by Mr. MacFarlane. It was also procured

at Big Island by Mr. Reid, at Nulato and Unalakleet by Mr. Dall, at

St. Michael’s by Colonel Bulkley, at Fort Kenai by Bischoff, and at

Fort Rae by Mr. Clarke. From the memoranda of Mr. MacFarlane, we have

valuable information in regard to the nesting and breeding habits of

this species. May 24, at Fort Anderson, an Indian lad discovered a

nest of this Jay. It was built in a tree, was composed of hay and

feathers, and contained, with two young birds a few days old, an egg

that was perfectly fresh. This bird, Mr. MacFarlane states, is

tolerably numerous in that quarter. During the severe cold of winter

it is not quite so common as at other seasons. It is by no means a

difficult bird to shoot, as it will always venture into close

proximity to man. Flesh or fish are certain to attract numbers of

them, and they also cause great annoyance to the marten-hunter, by

eating the bait placed in the traps used for capturing those animals.

None of this species were observed on the Arctic coast, nor east of

Horton River, Fort Anderson being the most northern point where Mr.

MacFarlane saw any, in his journeys across the barren grounds.

Other nests found in the same region were usually built in

spruce-trees, on branches near the trunk, well concealed from view,

and about ten feet from the ground. They were constructed of hay and

feathers, supported underneath by a few willow sticks laid crosswise.

Mr. Dall characterizes this species as a very bold and familiar bird,

that will frequently fly down and steal away his dinner from some

hungry dog, if he is not on the alert, or devour the fish hung up in

camp by the Indians to dry. They breed very early, and occupy the same

nest year after year. The nest is very large, and composed entirely of

soft materials, moss, hair, and the like. On the 20th of April, Mr.

Dall received a nest of this Jay containing four half-fledged young,

so that they must lay in March. The bird was abundant everywhere on

the Yukon River.

These birds are known throughout the fur countries by the name of

Whiskey-Jack, not from any supposed predilection for that beverage,

but probably, as Mr. Kennicott has suggested, from a corruption of the

Indian name for these birds, Wiss-ka-chon, which has been contorted

into Whiskey-John and thence into Whiskey-Jack. Richardson observed

these birds from Canada to the fur countries as far as latitude 69°.

Throughout that region it is a constant attendant at the fur-posts and

fishing-stations, and becomes so tame in the winter as to feed from

the hand. Yet it is impatient of confinement, and soon pines away if

deprived of its liberty. Its voice is said to be plaintive and

squeaking, though it occasionally makes a low chattering. It hoards

berries, pieces of meat, etc., in hollow trees, or between layers of

bark, by which it is enabled to feed its young while the ground is

still covered with snow.

Dr. Newberry found this Jay as far to the south, in California, as the

upper end of the Sacramento Valley, in latitude 40°. The fact that the

isothermal line of this region passes south of Cincinnati, shows that

climate and temperature do not regulate the range of this species. As

observed in the summer months among the forests of Oregon, the Canada

Jay appeared as a rather shy bird, exhibiting none of the familiarity

and impudence exhibited in winter when made bold by hunger.

Wilson mentions the St. Lawrence as the southern boundary of this

bird, a few only wintering in Northern New York and Vermont. But this

is inexact. They are found resident throughout the year in a large

part of Maine and in all the highlands of New Hampshire and Vermont.

They are resident at Calais, where they breed in March at about

latitude 45°, and descend in the winter to the southwest corner of

Vermont, whence it is quite probable a few cross into Massachusetts,

at Williamstown and Adams, though none have been detected, that I am

aware. Wilson himself states that he was informed by a gentleman

residing near Hudson, N. Y., that these birds have been observed in

that neighborhood in the winter.

Dr. Coues met with these birds in Labrador. The first he saw were in a

dense spruce forest. These were very shy, alighting only on the tops

of the tallest trees, and flying off with loud harsh screams on his

approach. Subsequently, at Rigolet, he found them abundant and very

familiar. One or more were always to be seen hopping unconcernedly in

the garden-patches around the houses, not in the least disturbed by

the near presence of man, and showing no signs of fear even when very

closely approached. He describes their voice as a harsh, discordant

scream.

Mr. Edward Harris, of Moorestown, N. J., informed Mr. Audubon, that

once, when fishing in a canoe in one of the lakes in the interior of

Maine, these Jays were so fearless as to light on one end of his boat

while he sat in the other, and helped themselves to his bait without

taking any notice of him.

A nest of the Canada Jay, found by Mr. Boardman near St. Stephen’s,

New Brunswick, measures four and a half inches in diameter and three

inches in height. The cavity is about three inches wide and two deep.

The nest is woven above a rude platform of sticks and twigs crossed

and interlaced, furnishing a roughly made hemispherical base and

periphery. Upon this an inner and more artistic nest has been wrought,

made of a soft felting of fine mosses closely impacted and lined with

feathers. The nest contained three eggs.

The egg of the Canada Jay measures 1.20 inches in length, by .82 of an

inch in breadth. They are of an oblong-oval shape, and are more

tapering at the smaller end than are most of the eggs of this family.

The ground-color is of a light gray, with a slightly yellowish tinge

over the entire egg, finely marked, more abundantly about the larger

end, with points and blotches of slate-color and brown, and faint

cloudings of an obscure lilac.

Perisoreus canadensis, var. obscurus, RIDGWAY.

ALASKAN GRAY JAY.

_Perisoreus canadensis_, COOPER & SUCKLEY, 216.—DALL & BANNISTER,

Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869, 286 (Alaska).—FINSCH, Abh. Nat. III,

1872, 40 (Alaska).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 307.

SP. CHAR. (8,454 Shoalwater Bay, W. T., March 10, 1854; Dr. J. G.

Cooper.) Above plumbeous-umber, inclining to grayish-plumbeous on

wings and tail; shafts of the dorsal feathers conspicuously white.

Whole crown and nape, above the lores and auriculars, sooty-black;

separated from the brown of the back by a whitish tint. Forehead

(narrowly), nasal tufts, lores, whole lateral and under side of head,

with jugulum, pure white, rest of lower parts a duller and more

brownish white. Wing, 5.50; tail, 5.30; culmen, .93; tarsus, 1.20.

_Young_ (5,904, Shoalwater Bay). Entirely plumbeous-brown, inclining

to brownish-white beneath. Dorsal feathers with white shafts, and

those of the forehead, crown, and nape, as well as the wing-coverts,

with obsolete whitish borders.

This form, as described above, seems to be peculiar to the northwest

coast, reaching its extreme development in Washington Territory and

Oregon. North of Sitka, and in the Yukon Territory, specimens incline

toward the var. _canadensis_, in broader frontal white, and purer

plumbeous colors.

HABITS. Dr. Cooper met with this variety at the mouth of the Columbia

River in March in small scattered flocks, industriously seeking

insects and seeds among the spruce-trees, occasionally whistling in a

loud melodious tone like that of the Cardinal Grosbeak. He also states

that the notes of this bird differ much from the other Jays in being

clear and musical, and they sometimes show a considerable variety of

song.

This Jay, Mr. Lord states, is so familiar and confiding, and so fond

of being near the habitations of man, that the settlers never harm it.

In the cold weather he has seen it hop by the fire, ruffle up its

feathers and warm itself without the least fear, keeping a sharp

lookout for crumbs, and looking so beseechingly with its glittering

gray eyes, that no one could refuse such an appeal for a stray morsel.

It winters in British Columbia and Vancouver Island.

Perisoreus canadensis, var. capitalis, BAIRD.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GRAY JAY.

SP. CHAR. (61,084, Henry’s Fork, Wyoming Territory, F. V. Hayden.)

Above fine light bluish-plumbeous, becoming much lighter on the

anterior portion of the back; tertials, secondaries, wing-coverts,

primaries, and tail-feathers passing into whitish terminally, on the

latter forming quite broad and distinct tips. A nuchal patch of a

slightly darker tint than the back, and separated from it by the hoary

whitish of the anterior dorsal region. Whole of the head (except the

nuchal patch), with the anterior lower parts, as far as the breast,

pure white; rest of lower parts ashy-white, becoming gradually more

ashy posteriorly. Wing, 5.80; tail, 6.00; culmen, 1.00. _Young_

(18,440, Fort Benton, April 23, J. A. Mullan). Generally

ashy-plumbeous, with a decided bluish cast to wings and tail; orbital

region, lores, forehead, and nasal tufts blackish; crown, a broad

space below the eye from the bill across the auriculars, with the

middle of the abdomen, pale hoary-ashy. Wings and tail as in the

adult.

This race, very different from the two styles found to the westward

and eastward of it, is peculiar to Rocky Mountain regions, and

apparently only occurring south of the northern boundary of the United

States. A very large series of specimens, brought in at various times

from numerous localities, substantiate the constancy of the characters

pointed out above.

Genus PSILORHINUS, RÜPPELL.

_Psilorhinus_, RÜPPELL, Mus. Senck. 1837, 188. (Type, _Pica morio_,

WAGLER.)

[Line drawing: _Psilorhinus morio._

4114]

CHAR. Color very dull brown above. Bill very stout, compressed,

without notch; higher than broad at the nostrils; culmen curved from

the base. Nostrils rounded; the anterior extremity rounded off into

the bill; not covered by bristles, but fully exposed. Tail rather

longer than the wings, graduated; the lateral feather three fourths

the longest; secondaries and tertials nearly as long as the primaries.

Legs stout and short, not equal to the head, and little longer than

the bill from base.

This genus embraces Jays of large size and very dull plumage. The

thick bill, with the much curved culmen, the moderate tail, and the

open nostrils, may serve to distinguish it from its allies. The

nostril is very large, and its anterior portion is bevelled off to a

greater degree than in any genus, except in _Calocitta_. This

last-mentioned genus has the same form of bill and of nostrils, but

the head has a long recurved crest; the tail is twice as long as the

wings; the lateral feather nearly half the middle; the lateral tarsal

plates scutellate for the inferior half, etc.

In the shape of the bill and the shortness of the primaries, compared

with the broad tertials and secondaries, there is much resemblance to

_Xanthoura_. The nostrils are, however, uncovered, the legs much

stouter and shorter, being shorter than the head instead of longer;

the tail-feathers are broader, etc.

Psilorhinus morio, GRAY.

BROWN JAY.

_Pica morio_, WAGLER, Isis, 1829, VII, 751.—IB. Isis, 1831,

527.—Voyage de la Favorite, V, 1839, 54 (said to have been

killed at San Francisco, Cal., by Botta). _Psilorhinus morio_,

GRAY, List, genera, 1841, 51.—BONAP. Consp. 1850, 381.—CAB.

Mus. Hein. 1851, 226.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 592, pl.

lxviii, f. 1, 2. “_Pica fuliginosa_, LESSON, Traite d’Orn.

1831, 333.” _Psilorhinus mexicanus_, RÜPPELL, Mus. Senck, 1837,

pl. xi, f. 2.

[Illustration: _Psilorhinus morio._]

SP. CHAR. Tail much graduated; the lateral feathers about two inches

shortest. Second quill equal to the secondaries; third and fourth

longest. General color dark smoky-brown, becoming almost black on the

head; the breast brownish-gray; nearly white about the anus; under

tail-coverts tinged with brown; the exposed portion of the tail with a

decided gloss of blue; bill and feet, in some specimens yellow, in

others black. Length, 16.00; wing, 8.00; tail. 8.25; tarsus. 1.80.

HAB. Rio Grande Valley, north-eastern Mexico, southward. Cordova (SCL.

1856, 300); ? Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 22); Honduras (SCL. II, 113);

Costa Rica (CABAN. J. 1861, 83); Vera Cruz, hot and temperate regions

(SUMICH. Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 554).

The difference in the color of the bill appears to be independent of

sex. The feet of the yellow-billed birds are not of the same pure

yellow.

The _Psilorhinus mexicanus_ of Rüppell is described as having white

tips to the tail-feathers; of these there is no trace in the adult

specimens, male and female, from the Rio Grande, before us. He speaks

of a supposed young bird sent from Tamaulipas, by Lindheimer, as being

without these white tips.

[Illustration: PLATE XLII.

1. Xanthoura luxuosa. New Leon, New Mex., 4052.

2. Psilorhinus morio. ♀ New Leon, Mex., 4114.

3. Cyanura cristata. ♂ D. C., 12408.

4. Perisoreus canadensis. _Juv._, Maine, 1920.]

A series of specimens of this species exhibits considerable

diversities. Some skins from Mirador, Mex., not far from Vera Cruz,

perhaps best represent the species as first described by Wagler. In

these the head and neck are sooty-brown, becoming lighter on the

jugulum and on the back. The wings and tail show a trace of dull

bluish. In No. 23,915 the under parts are sooty-gray, the bill and

legs black; in 23,916 the colors are similar, with a fulvous tinge on

the breast, the bill and feet yellow. In both the under surface of

tail is brown to the end. In 23,917 the under parts, from breast to

crissum inclusive, with the tibiæ, are brownish-white, the

tail-feathers (excepting the two median) tipped with white for over an

inch, the bill and feet black. This one also has an obscure dull

bluish wash or patch along the feathers of the ramus of lower jaw not

observed in other specimens.

The specimens collected by Lieutenant Couch, and described in the

Pacific Railroad Report are considerably smaller, and exhibit other

differences which may prove of specific importance. In this case they

will appropriately bear Rüppell’s name of _P. mexicanus_.

HABITS. This is a Mexican species, occasionally extending its

movements as far north as the valley of the Rio Grande, and probably

crossing our lines into Texas, although of this there is as yet no

positive evidence.

Specimens of this species were procured by Lieutenant Couch at

Boquillo, San Diego, and at China, in north-eastern Mexico, and were

found by him living in forests of high trees. It is Jay-like in its

habits, being decidedly gregarious, and having harsh and loud notes.

Though making more noise than any other bird in the neighborhood, if

one of their number is brought down by the discharge of a gun, the

noise hushes them at once, and the rest move off in perfect silence.

Mr. Sumichrast, in his paper on the Distribution of the Birds of Vera

Cruz, states that this species abounds in both the hot and the

temperate regions of that department, and, indeed, the greater

portions of Vera Cruz. He speaks of it as a bird well known and

generally detested on account of its troublesome and noisy habits. It

is found everywhere except in the alpine region, and it does not

appear ever to go beyond a vertical elevation of 4,500 feet. This

gentleman has been assured that the bird never makes any nest of its

own, but invariably lays its eggs in those belonging to other birds.

He does not so state, but we infer that he means to convey the idea

that this Jay appropriates the nests of other birds in which to hatch

its own young, not that, like the Cowbird, it leaves its eggs to be

brought up by strangers.

This Jay was met with by Mr. G. C. Taylor at Taulevi, in Honduras; and

from that place eastward, as far as the Atlantic, he found it very

common. It was generally seen or heard shrieking in the bushes by the

roadsides. It was also found by Mr. Salvin to occur on the eastern

road between Quiriqua and Iguana, on the road to Guatemala.

Mr. Joseph Leyland found this species common both in Honduras and the

Belize. It occurred in small flocks, which were very noisy, and

annoyed the hunter by always giving the alarm.

FAMILY TYRANNIDÆ.—TYRANT FLYCATCHERS.

PRIMARY CHARACTERS. Primaries ten. Bill in typical forms broad,

triangular, much depressed, abruptly decurved and notched at tip, with

long bristles along gape. Tarsi with scutellæ extending round the

outer face of tarsus from the front to back; sometimes divided on the

outer side. Bill with culmen nearly as long as the head, or shorter;

straight to near the tip, then suddenly bent down into a conspicuous

hook, with a notch behind it; tip of lower jaw also notched.

Commissure straight to near the notch; gonys slightly convex. Nostrils

oval or rounded, in the anterior extremity of the nasal groove, and

more or less concealed by long bristles which extend from the

posterior angle of the jaws along the base of the bill, becoming

smaller, but reaching nearly to the median line of the forehead. These

bristles with lateral branches at the base. Similar bristles are mixed

in the loral feathers and margin the chin. Tarsi short, generally less

than middle toe, completely enveloped by a series of large scales,

which meet near the posterior edge of the inner side, and are

separated either by naked skin or by a row of small scales. Sometimes

a second series of rather large plates is seen on the posterior face

of the tarsus, these, however, usually on the upper extremity only.

Basal joint of middle toe united almost throughout to that of the

outer toe, but more than half free on the inner side; outer lateral

toe rather the longer. Wings and tail variable; first quill always

more than three fourths the second. The outer primaries sometimes

attenuated near the tip.

The primary characters given above will serve to distinguish the North

American _Tyrannidæ_ from their allies; the essential features

consisting in the peculiarity of the scales of the tarsus and the ten

primaries. In the _Sylvicolidæ_ there are species as truly

“flycatching,” and with a depressed bristly bill, but the nine (not

ten) primaries, and the restriction of the scales to the anterior face

of the tarsus, instead of extending entirely round the outer side,

will readily separate them.

The relationships of the _Tyrannidæ_ are closest to the _Cotingidæ_.

These last differ mainly in having the tarsus more or less

reticulated, or covered in part at least with small angular scales,

instead of continuous broad ones; and in the greater adhesion of the

toes. The legs are shorter, and the body broader and more depressed.

The bill is less abundantly provided with bristles, and the species do

not appear to be strictly flycatchers, feeding more on berries and on

stationary insects and larvæ, rather than capturing them on the wing.

Two species of this family, _Hadrostomus affinis_[62] and

_Pachyramphus major_,[63] were introduced into the Birds of North

America, from specimens collected by Lieutenant Couch in the valley of

the Rio Grande, not far from the border of the United States, but as

they have not yet been detected within our limits, we have concluded

to omit them in the present work.

The bird fauna of America may be said to have one of its chief

features in the great number and variety of its _Tyrannidæ_, the

family being strictly a New World one. Nearly every possible diversity

of form is exhibited by different members; the size, however, usually

varying from that of our common Robin to that of the Kinglet, our

smallest bird with exception of the Humming-Bird. Of the numerous

subfamilies, however, only one, the _Tyranninæ_ proper, belongs to

North America, and will be readily distinguished from other of our

land birds by the family characters given at the head of this article,

and which, as drawn up, apply rather to the subfamily than to the

_Tyrannidæ_ generally.

The North American species of the _Tyranninæ_ may, for our present

purposes, be divided into _Tyranni_ and _Tyrannuli_. The former are

large, generally with bright color, pointed wings, with attenuated

primaries and a colored crest in the middle of the crown. The others

are plainer, smaller, without colored crest; the primaries not

attenuated.

The genera of our Flycatchers may be arranged as follows:—

TYRANNI. Size large; colors generally brilliant; crown

with a brightly colored crest, usually concealed; outer

primaries abruptly contracted or attenuated near the tip;

upper scales of tarsus usually continuing round on the

outside and behind. Nest in trees, very bulky, containing

much downy material; eggs white or pinkish, with ovate

dots of rich brown, of various shades.

Milvulus. Tail excessively forked and lengthened; more

than twice as long as the wings.

Tyrannus. Tail moderate; nearly even or slightly

forked; less than the wings.

TYRANNULI. Size generally small; colors usually plain;

crown without any colored crest concealed by the tips of

the feathers; primaries normal; scales of the upper part

of the tarsus usually continuing only to the middle of the

outer face, and a second series opposite to them behind.

1. Tail lengthened; about equal to the wings, which

reach scarcely to its middle.

Myiarchus. Tarsus equal to the middle toe, which is

decidedly longer than the hinder one. Tail even or

rounded. Throat pale ash, rest of lower parts yellow

generally, the primaries edged with rufous, and inner

webs of tail-feathers with more or less of the same

color. Nest in a cavity of a tree, of loose material;

eggs whitish, with intricate tangled lines and streaks

of dark brown, the general effect salmon-color.

Sayornis. Tarsus rather longer than the middle toe,

which is scarcely longer than the hind toe. Tail

slightly forked. Bill very narrow. No light orbital

ring, nor distinct bands on wings; both mandibles

black. Nest attached to rocks or parts of buildings,

very compact and bulky, containing much mud in its

composition; eggs pure white, immaculate, or with very

minute sparse dots near larger end.

2. Tail decidedly shorter than the wings, which reach

beyond its middle. Tarsus shorter than the middle toe.

Contopus. Hind toe much longer than the lateral. Tail

considerably forked. Wings long, pointed; much longer

than the tail, reaching beyond the middle of the

latter; first quill about equal to the fourth. Bill

broad. Color olive-gray, and white, sometimes with a

yellowish tinge beneath. Lower mandible pale-colored.

Nest saucer-shaped, compact, and very small, saddled

very securely upon a thick branch; eggs cream-colored,

with a zone of lilac and rich brown blotches round the

larger end.

3. Tail shorter than the wings, as in the last. Tarsus

considerably longer than the middle toe; hind toe much

longer than lateral. Tail nearly even, sometimes

slightly rounded, but little shorter than the wings;

first primary much shorter than the fourth.

Empidonax. Head moderately crested; tail about even.

Bristles of bill reaching about half-way to tip. Legs

stout. A conspicuous light orbital ring, and distinct

bands on the wing. More or less tinged with

sulphur-yellow on lower parts. Nest variously

constructed, deeply cup-shaped, compact or loose,

entirely of either grassy or fibrous and downy

material, and fixed to slender twigs or lodged in a

crotch between thick branches; eggs white, immaculate,

or with blotches of brown round larger end.

Mitrephorus. Head decidedly crested. Tail forked.

Bristles of bill reaching nearly to tip. Legs very

weak and slender. Beneath more or less tinged with

fulvous or ochraceous.

Pyrocephalus. Head with a full crest. Tarsus but

little longer than the middle toe; hind toe not longer

than the lateral. Tail broad, even; first quill

shorter than the fifth. Beneath, with whole crown

bright red (except in _P. obscurus_). Female very

different, lacking the red, except posteriorly

beneath, and with the breast obsoletely streaked.

[62] _Hadrostomus affinis. Platypsaris affinis_, ELLIOT,

Ibis, 1859, 394, pl. xiii. _Pachyramphus aglaiæ_, BAIRD,

Birds N. Am. 1858, 164, pl. xlvii, f. 1.—IB. Rep. Mex.

Bound. II, Birds, 7, pl. xix, f. 1. _Hadrostomus aglaiæ_,

CABANIS, Mus. Hein. II, 85 (Xalapa).—IB. Journ. 1861,

252.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1864, 176 (City Mex.). _Hab._

Northern Mexico, Jalapa, Nicaragua (SCL. Catalogue, p. 240);

Yucatan (LAWRENCE).

[63] _Pachyramphus major. Bathmidurus major_, CAB. Orn. Nat.

1847, I, 246.—CAB. ET HEIN. Mus. Hein. II, 89.—BAIRD,

Birds N. Am. 1858, 165, pl. xlvii, f. 2 ♀.—IB. Rep. Mex.

Bound. II, Birds, 7, pl. xix, f. 2. _Pachyramphus major_,

SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1857, 78; 1864, 176 (City of Mex.). _Hab._

Mexico and Guatemala.

GENUS MILVULUS, SWAINSON.

_Milvulus_, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 165.

_Despotes_, REICHENBACH, Avium Syst. Naturale, 1850 (in part).

[Line drawing: _Milvulus forficatus_ (tail abnormal).

7374 ♀]

SP. CHAR. Bill shorter than the head, and nearly equal to the tarsus.

Tail nearly twice as long as the wing, excessively forked; the middle

feathers scarcely half the lateral. First primary abruptly attenuated

at the end, where it is very narrow and linear. Head with a concealed

crest of red.

This group is distinguished from _Tyrannus_ by the very long tail, but

the two species assigned by authors to North America, although

agreeing in many respects, differ in some parts of their structure.

The peculiarities of coloration are as follows:—

M. forficatus. Whitish-ash above; rump black.

Tail-feathers rose-white with black tips; shoulders,

axillars, and belly light vermilion. _Hab._ Middle

America, and open portions of Texas, Indian Territory,

etc.; accidental in New Jersey.

M. tyrannus.[64] Head above and tail black; the latter

edged externally with white. Back ashy. Beneath pure

white. _Hab._ Middle America, accidental in Eastern United

States.

[64] _M. tyrannus_, var. _violentus_ (_Tyrannus violentus_,

VIEILL. N. D. XXXV, p. 89. _Milvulus v._, SCL. Catal. Am. B.

1862, 237), is the South American race of this species. It

is exceedingly similar, but differs slightly, though

constantly, in certain characters. We have not at present

the means of comparing the two.

Milvulus tyrannus, BON.

FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER.

_Muscicapa tyrannus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 325. _Milvulus

tyrannus_, BONAP. Geog. List, 1838.—AUDUBON, Synopsis, 1839,

38.—IB. Birds Am. I, 1840, 196, pl. lii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am.

1858, 168.—CABAN. Journ. 1861, 251.—SCL. List, 1862,

237.—FINSCH, P. Z. S. 1870, 572 (Trinidad; considers

_violentus_, _tyrannus_, and _monachus_ as identical).

_Despotes tyrannus_, BONAP. Comptes Rendus, 1854, 87. _Tyrannus

savana_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 72, pl.

xliii.—SWAINSON, Mon. Ty. Shrikes; Quarterly Jour. XX, Jan.

1826, 282. _Muscicapa savana_, BONAP. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 1, pl.

i, f. 1.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 387, pl. clxviii. _Milvulus

savanus_, GRAY, List, 1841. _Tyrannus milvulus_, NUTTALL, Man.,

(2d ed.,) I, 1840, 307. _Fork-tailed Flycatcher_, PENNANT,

LATHAM. _Tyran a queue fourchue_, BUFFON, pl. enl. 571.

SP. CHAR. Outer four primaries abruptly attenuated at the end, the

sides of the attenuated portion parallel. Second and third quills

longest; fourth little shorter, and not much exceeding the first. Tail

very deeply forked; the external feather linear, and twice as long as

the head and body alone. Top and sides of the head glossy black. Rump,

upper tail-coverts, and tail almost black; the outer web of outer

tail-feather yellowish-white for more than the basal half; rest of

upper parts ash-gray. Under parts generally pure white. Wings dark

brown; the outer primary and tertials edged with white. Crown with a

concealed patch of yellow. Length, 14.00; wing, 4.75; tail, 10.00;

depth of fork, 7.00. _Young._ No colored patch on crown; wing-coverts

(including the lesser) and tail-feathers, with their upper coverts,

bordered with rusty ochraceous. Black of head, tail, etc., duller than

in adult.

HAB. Mexico to South America. Accidental in the United States. (New

Jersey, Kentucky, and Mississippi, AUDUBON.)

This species claims a place in the fauna of the United States on

account of two specimens captured in New Jersey, at long intervals,

and one or two seen by Mr. Audubon in the southwest. It is, however,

hardly proper to include it in our work on so slight a basis, and we

only retain it for the purpose of referring to the notice of it by Mr.

Audubon.

HABITS. The Fork-tailed Flycatcher is of purely accidental occurrence

in the United States. Two specimens, taken at long intervals, are said

to have been captured in the United States. One of these was shot by

Mr. Audubon, in June, 1832, near the city of Camden, N. J. It was

first observed flying over a meadow, in pursuit of insects. It

afterwards alighted on the top of a small detached tree, when it was

secured. The bird appeared to have lost its way, was unsuspicious, and

paid no attention when approached. On the wing, it seemed to make use

of its long tail whenever it sought to suddenly turn in pursuit of its

prey. On the ground, it vibrated its tail in the manner of a

Sparrow-Hawk.

When the bird fell to the ground severely wounded, it uttered a sharp

squeak, which it repeated, accompanied by a smart clicking of the

bill, when Mr. Audubon approached it. It lived only a few moments, and

from this specimen he made his drawing.

Several years previous to this, one of these birds had been shot near

Henderson, Ky., but it was so far decayed when given to Mr. Audubon

that it could not be preserved. It had been obtained among the Barrens

late in October. Near Natchez, Miss., in August, 1822, Mr. Audubon was

confident he saw two others of this species. They were high in the

air, and were twittering in the manner of a Kingbird. He was, however,

unable to secure them.

Another straggler was obtained near Bridgton, N. J., early in

December. From this specimen was made the engraving in Bonaparte’s

Ornithology. It was given to Titian Peale by Mr. J. Woodcraft of that

place.

This Flycatcher is a resident in tropical South America from Guiana to

La Plata, and in its habits resembles the swallow-tailed species of

our southern fauna. It is said to be a solitary bird, remaining

perched on the limb of a tree, from which, from time to time, it darts

after passing insects; while standing, it is said to vibrate its long

tail in the manner of the European Wagtail. It also occasionally

utters a twitter not unlike the common note of the Kingbird. Besides

insects, this bird also feeds on berries, as the bird obtained near

Bridgton had its stomach distended with the fruit of the poke-weed.

This species, according to Sumichrast, is found abundantly in winter

in the savannas of the hot lands of Vera Cruz, and occurs to the

height of about two thousand feet. He is not aware of its being

resident.

Mr. Leyland found this species frequenting Old River and the pine

ridges of Belize. They were also plentiful on the flats near Peten,

and were occasionally found at Comayagua and Omoa, Honduras.

Mr. C. W. Wyatt met with this Flycatcher in Colombia, South America,

on the savanna in the neighborhood of Aquachica. When at Ocaña, he

used to see them congregated in considerable numbers just before

sunset, whirling round high up in the air, and darting down like

rockets to the ground. He only found it frequenting the open part of

the country, and he never met with it at a greater elevation than five

thousand feet.

An egg of this species obtained by Dr. Baldamus, from Cayenne,

exhibits a strong resemblance to the egg of the common Kingbird. It

has a clear white ground, and is spotted with deep and prominent

marking of red and red-brown. They are of an oblong-oval shape, are

tapering at one end, and measure .90 by .68 of an inch.

[Illustration: PLATE XLIII.

1. Milvulus forficatus. ♂ Texas, 7375.

2. Tyrannus verticalis. ♂ Cal., 16137.

3. Myiarchus crinitus. ♂ Pa., 1489.

4. Tyrannus carolinensis. ♂ E. U. S., 6482.

5. ” vociferans. ♂ Cal., 31887.

6. Myiarchus cinerascens. ♂ Cal., 13719.

7. Tyrannus couchi. ♂ Tamaulipas, 4001.

8. ” dominicensis. ♂ Fla., 13737.

9. Myiarchus lawrencii. ♂ N. Mex., 29344.]

Milvulus forficatus, SWAIN.

SCISSOR-TAIL; SWALLOW-TAIL FLYCATCHER.

_Muscicapa forficata_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 931.—VIEILLOT,

Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 71.—STEPHENS, in Shaw’s Zoöl. X, II,

413, pl. iii.—BONAP. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 15, pl. ii, f. 1.—AUD.

Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 426, pl. ccclix, f. 3. _Tyrannus

forficatus_, SAY, Long’s Exped., II, 1823, 224.—NUTTALL’S

Manual, I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 309. _Milvulus forficatus_,

“SWAINS.” RICH. List, 1837.—AUDUBON, Synopsis, 1839, 38.—IB.

Birds Am. I, 1840, 197, pl. liii.—CABAN. Mus. Hein. II,

79.—SCL. List, 1862, 237.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 169.—IB.

Mex. B. II, Zoöl. 7.—HEERM. X, c. p. 11. _Tyrannus mexicanus_,

STEPHENS, Shaw, Gen. Zoöl. Birds, XIII, II, 1826, 135.

_Moucherolle a queue fourchue du Mexique_, BUFFON, pl. enl.

677. _Bird of Paradise_ of the Texans.

[Illustration: _Milvulus forficatus._]