230 



North American Birds Eggs. 



\) 



477. Blue Jay. Cijanocitta cristatd. 



Range.— North America, east of the Plains and north to Hudson Bay; resident 

 and very abunch\nt in its United States range. 



These beautiful and bold marauders are too well 

 known to need description, suffice it to say that they 

 are the most beautiful of North American Jays; but be- 

 neath their handsome plumage beats a heart as cruel 

 and cunning as that in any bird of prey. In the fall, 

 winter and spring, their food consists largely of acorns, 

 chestnuts, berries, seeds, grain, insects, lizards, etc., 

 but during the summer months they destroy and devour 

 a great many eggs and young of the smaller birds, their 

 taste for which, being so great that they are known to 

 watch a nest until the full complement of eggs is laid before making their theft. 

 They nest in open woods or clumps of trees, indifferently, in pines or young 

 trees, building most often below twenty feet from the ground; the nests are made 

 of twigs and rootlets, lined with tiner rootlets. During May they lay from four 

 to six eggs of a greenish or brownish buff color spotted with olive brown. Size 

 1.10 X .80. Data.— Chester County, Fa., May 23, 1886. Nest in an oak sapling, 

 fifteen feet above ground; made of sticks, rootlets and grass. Collector, Samuel 

 B. Ladd. 



477a. Florida Blue Jay. Cyaitocitta cristata fhirincola. 

 Range. — Florida and the Gulf coast. 



The nesting habits and eggs of this smaller subspecies are the same as those 

 of the northern Blue Jay. Like our birds, they frequently nest near habitations. 



478. Stellar Jay. Cyanocitta stelleri. 



Range. — Pacific coast from southern California to Alaska; resident and breed- 

 ing throughout its range. 



All the members of this sub-genus are similar in 

 plumage, having a sooty black head, crest and neck, 

 shading insensibly into dark bluish on the back and 

 untlerparts. and brighter blue on the wings and tail. 

 They usually have a few streaks or spots of pale blue on 

 the forehead. They are just as noisy, bold and thievish 

 as the eastern Jay and are also excellent mimics like the 

 latter. They nest in fir trees at any height from the 

 ground and in April or May deposit their three to six 

 greenish blue eggs which are spotted with various shades 

 of l)rown. Size 1.25 x .90. Their nests are more bulky 

 than those of the eastern Jay and are usually made of 

 larger sticks and held together with some mud. 

 478a. Blue-fronted Jay. Ciianocitta stelleri frontalis. 



Range.— Coast ranges of California and Oregon. 



The nesting habits and eggs of this variety are indistinguishable from those 

 of the preceding. The bird has more blue on the forehead. 

 478b. Long-crested Jay. Cijanocitta stelleri diademata. 



Range. — Southern Rocky Mountains from Arizona to Wyoming. 



No general difference can be found between the eggs of this species and the 

 Steller Jay, and the nests of each are constructed similarly antl in like situations. 

 478c. Black-headed Jay. Cyanoeitta stelleri annertens. 



Range.— Northern Rocky Mountains from northern Colorado to British 

 Columbia. 



The eggs of this subspecies cannot be identified from those of the other varie- 

 ties. Like the others, their nests are made of sticks plastered together with 

 mud and lined with weeds and rootlets. 

 478d. Queen Charlotte Jay. Cyanoeitta stelleri earlottif. 



Range.— (»)ueen Cliarlotte Islands, British Columbia. 



