Illustration: Color plate 39PLATEXXXIX.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 11.Cyanura stelleri.♂Oregon, 46040.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 22.Cyanura stelleri.var. frontalis.♂Sierra Nevada, 53639.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 33.Cyanura macrolopha.♂Ariz., 41015.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 44.Cyanura 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 theClisiocampa 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 sothoroughly 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 ofSwainson,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, ArcticZoöl. II,Sp.139.Lath.Syn. I, 387.Cyanura s.Baird, BirdsN. Am.1858, 581 (in part).Lord,Pr. R. A. Inst.IV, 122 (British Columbia; nest).—Dall & Bannister,Trans. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 486 (Alaska).—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 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 toSt.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 andnotes, 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 ofP. 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 smallsapling 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.Youngwith the blue ofthe 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 approachesvar.stelleri) to Fort Tejon.In the colors of the body, wings, and tail, this well-marked race resemblesC. macrolophain 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 thecristata, 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 theC. 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 betweenC. stelleriandmacrolopha).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 andC. stelleriis 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 instelleri(much darker thanmacrolopha), 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 instelleri, there are no black bars on the greater wing-coverts. As this is an abundant form, whether permanent race or hybrid, it may be calledvar.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, theCyanura coronataof 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 smallfir-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 ofC. macrolophameasure 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 ofstelleri, and the ground-color is brighter, and the markings deeper and more of an olive hue.GenusCYANOCITTA,Strickland.Cyanocitta,Strickland, Annals andMag. 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 inCyanura, the species are peculiar to the United States and Mexico, one indeed being apparently confined to the Peninsula of Florida.Illustration: Cyanocitta californicaCyanocitta californica.8455It 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 invar.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; CapeSt.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 incouchi, 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 insordida, 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. Entirelyuniform 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 inCyanura. Thus,Cyanocitta woodhouseidiffers fromcalifornica, much asCyanura macrolophadoes fromC. 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 ofcalifornica, 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 ofPipilo fuscaand its three races in the three regions inhabited by these representative forms ofCyanocitta 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 betweenarizonæandsordidais a parallel to that betweenCyanura macrolophaandC. coronata; the southern forms (sordidaandcoronata) differing principally in the greater intensity and prevalence or amount of the blue. The relations ofcouchiandultramarinato 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.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; restof 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 theSt.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 ofSt.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 ofSt.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.2dseries,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; NotesOrn.Delattre.Corvus ultramarinus,Aud.Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 456,pl. ccclxii(notGarrulus ultramarinus,Bon.).Garrulus ultramarinus,Aud.Syn.1839, 154.—Ib.Birds Am. IV, 1842, 115,pl. ccxxxii(not ofBonaparte).Cyanocitta superciliosa,Strickland,Ann. Mag. XV, 1845, 260 (type of genusCyanocitta). “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 CapeSt.Lucas; Carson City, Nevada (Ridgway).
Illustration: Color plate 39PLATEXXXIX.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 11.Cyanura stelleri.♂Oregon, 46040.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 22.Cyanura stelleri.var. frontalis.♂Sierra Nevada, 53639.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 33.Cyanura macrolopha.♂Ariz., 41015.Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 44.Cyanura 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 theClisiocampa 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 sothoroughly 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 ofSwainson,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, ArcticZoöl. II,Sp.139.Lath.Syn. I, 387.Cyanura s.Baird, BirdsN. Am.1858, 581 (in part).Lord,Pr. R. A. Inst.IV, 122 (British Columbia; nest).—Dall & Bannister,Trans. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 486 (Alaska).—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 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 toSt.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 andnotes, 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 ofP. 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 smallsapling 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.Youngwith the blue ofthe 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 approachesvar.stelleri) to Fort Tejon.In the colors of the body, wings, and tail, this well-marked race resemblesC. macrolophain 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 thecristata, 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 theC. 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 betweenC. stelleriandmacrolopha).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 andC. stelleriis 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 instelleri(much darker thanmacrolopha), 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 instelleri, there are no black bars on the greater wing-coverts. As this is an abundant form, whether permanent race or hybrid, it may be calledvar.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, theCyanura coronataof 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 smallfir-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 ofC. macrolophameasure 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 ofstelleri, and the ground-color is brighter, and the markings deeper and more of an olive hue.GenusCYANOCITTA,Strickland.Cyanocitta,Strickland, Annals andMag. 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 inCyanura, the species are peculiar to the United States and Mexico, one indeed being apparently confined to the Peninsula of Florida.Illustration: Cyanocitta californicaCyanocitta californica.8455It 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 invar.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; CapeSt.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 incouchi, 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 insordida, 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. Entirelyuniform 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 inCyanura. Thus,Cyanocitta woodhouseidiffers fromcalifornica, much asCyanura macrolophadoes fromC. 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 ofcalifornica, 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 ofPipilo fuscaand its three races in the three regions inhabited by these representative forms ofCyanocitta 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 betweenarizonæandsordidais a parallel to that betweenCyanura macrolophaandC. coronata; the southern forms (sordidaandcoronata) differing principally in the greater intensity and prevalence or amount of the blue. The relations ofcouchiandultramarinato 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.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; restof 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 theSt.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 ofSt.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 ofSt.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.2dseries,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; NotesOrn.Delattre.Corvus ultramarinus,Aud.Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 456,pl. ccclxii(notGarrulus ultramarinus,Bon.).Garrulus ultramarinus,Aud.Syn.1839, 154.—Ib.Birds Am. IV, 1842, 115,pl. ccxxxii(not ofBonaparte).Cyanocitta superciliosa,Strickland,Ann. Mag. XV, 1845, 260 (type of genusCyanocitta). “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 CapeSt.Lucas; Carson City, Nevada (Ridgway).
Illustration: Color plate 39PLATEXXXIX.
PLATEXXXIX.
PLATEXXXIX.
Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 11.Cyanura stelleri.♂Oregon, 46040.
1.Cyanura stelleri.♂Oregon, 46040.
1.Cyanura stelleri.♂Oregon, 46040.
Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 22.Cyanura stelleri.var. frontalis.♂Sierra Nevada, 53639.
2.Cyanura stelleri.var. frontalis.♂Sierra Nevada, 53639.
2.Cyanura stelleri.var. frontalis.♂Sierra Nevada, 53639.
Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 33.Cyanura macrolopha.♂Ariz., 41015.
3.Cyanura macrolopha.♂Ariz., 41015.
3.Cyanura macrolopha.♂Ariz., 41015.
Illustration: Color plate 39 detail 44.Cyanura coronata.♂Xalapa, 16313.
4.Cyanura coronata.♂Xalapa, 16313.
4.Cyanura 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 theClisiocampa 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 sothoroughly 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 ofSwainson,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, ArcticZoöl. II,Sp.139.Lath.Syn. I, 387.Cyanura s.Baird, BirdsN. Am.1858, 581 (in part).Lord,Pr. R. A. Inst.IV, 122 (British Columbia; nest).—Dall & Bannister,Trans. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 486 (Alaska).—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 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 toSt.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 andnotes, 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 ofP. 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 smallsapling 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.Youngwith the blue ofthe 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 approachesvar.stelleri) to Fort Tejon.
In the colors of the body, wings, and tail, this well-marked race resemblesC. macrolophain 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 thecristata, 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 theC. 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 betweenC. stelleriandmacrolopha).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 andC. stelleriis 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 instelleri(much darker thanmacrolopha), 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 instelleri, there are no black bars on the greater wing-coverts. As this is an abundant form, whether permanent race or hybrid, it may be calledvar.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, theCyanura coronataof 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 smallfir-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 ofC. macrolophameasure 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 ofstelleri, and the ground-color is brighter, and the markings deeper and more of an olive hue.
GenusCYANOCITTA,Strickland.
Cyanocitta,Strickland, Annals andMag. 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 inCyanura, the species are peculiar to the United States and Mexico, one indeed being apparently confined to the Peninsula of Florida.
Illustration: Cyanocitta californicaCyanocitta californica.8455
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 invar.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; CapeSt.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 incouchi, 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 insordida, 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. Entirelyuniform 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 inCyanura. Thus,Cyanocitta woodhouseidiffers fromcalifornica, much asCyanura macrolophadoes fromC. 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 ofcalifornica, 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 ofPipilo fuscaand its three races in the three regions inhabited by these representative forms ofCyanocitta 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 betweenarizonæandsordidais a parallel to that betweenCyanura macrolophaandC. coronata; the southern forms (sordidaandcoronata) differing principally in the greater intensity and prevalence or amount of the blue. The relations ofcouchiandultramarinato 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.
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; restof 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 theSt.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 ofSt.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 ofSt.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.2dseries,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; NotesOrn.Delattre.Corvus ultramarinus,Aud.Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 456,pl. ccclxii(notGarrulus ultramarinus,Bon.).Garrulus ultramarinus,Aud.Syn.1839, 154.—Ib.Birds Am. IV, 1842, 115,pl. ccxxxii(not ofBonaparte).Cyanocitta superciliosa,Strickland,Ann. Mag. XV, 1845, 260 (type of genusCyanocitta). “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 CapeSt.Lucas; Carson City, Nevada (Ridgway).