THE BLUE JAY. 



55 



variety of the most exquisite tints in their plumage. 

 A prevailing color of the whole group is blue, of dif- 

 ferent shades, from a light azure or ultamarine, to a 

 deep, dull indigo. In the United States we number 

 about eleven species. In the north and east we have 

 the Blue Jay and the Canada Jay ; in the south, the 

 Florida Jay ; and in the west and north-west, the 

 Ultamarine Jay, Steller's Jay, Prince Maximilian's 

 Jay, Mexican Jay, and Beechy's Jay, the two latter 

 being mostly confined to Texas and California. 



Nearly all our country boys are familiar with the 

 Blue Jay, with his high, peaked crest, his black 



Blue Jay. 



whiskers, and his broad wings and tail so beautifully 

 banded with blue, black, and white. His bold, 

 sprightly bearing, his malicious and deceitful habits, 

 his sly and cunning disposition, and his great fond- 

 ness for tasting the eggs which other birds have laid, 

 are facts in his history well known to most. His 



