A BIRD MISCELLANY 



IT shall be my purpose in this chapter to describe 

 with more or less fulness a number of Rockj 

 Mountain birds which have either not been men- 

 tioned in previous chapters or have received onlv casual 

 attention. 



On reaching Colorado one is surprised to find none 

 of our common blue jays which are so abundant in the 

 Eastern and Middle States. In my numerous Rocky 

 Mountain jaunts not one was seen. Yet this region 

 does not need to go begging for jays, only thev belong 

 to different groups of the Garridince sub-family. The 

 most abundant and conspicuous of these western forms 

 are the long-crested jays, so called on account of the 

 long tuft of black feathers adorning the occiput. This 

 distinguishing mark is not like the firm pyramidal crest 

 of the eastern jay, but is longer and narrower, and so 

 flexible that it sways back and forth as the bird flits 

 from branch to branch or takes a hop-skip-and-jump 

 over the ground. Its owner can raise and lower it at 

 will. 



The forehead of this jay is prettily sprinkled with 

 white ; his head and neck are black, in decided contrast 



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