216 CYANURUS STELLERI VAK. MACROLOPHUS. 



issts niidor two vi'iy wi'll-maiked, tlion^h of conrst' intcinnuliiijf, forms; the typical 

 s/tV/fr( is coniinocl to tlu- iioitliciii coast region, fioiii Silkn to tiio ('oluiiil)ia River, niul 

 is eliaracterized by a short crest, entirely black head without any bine on the Ibrehead ; 

 b,y sooty-blaek body and nnitbrm blue of wings, belly, rniii!) and tail. From the Co- 

 lumbia, southward along tlie Sierra Nevada to Southern Caliibruia. it is modified into 

 a vveU-niaiked form {vav. J'r<)iil((H>i), which lias a longer crest, the head and crest gray- 

 ish-brown with conspicuous blue streaks on the forehead, brownish-ashy body, and two 

 dilferent shades of blue — the indigo of the tail and secondaries being abrujjtlyi con- 

 trasted with the light azure of the inmp, primaries, abdomen, aud tail-coverts. This 

 form * * » * approximates closely to C. mucroJopha of a parallel latitude, but 

 dotn not grade into it, there never being a white supraocular spot, barred greater ci)verts, 

 or other peculiar features of the Rocky Mountain and Mexican form. That the north- 

 ern race of C. stctleri should grade into V. macrolopha, while the southern one does not, 

 seems to be easily explained by the following facts: The habitat, lougitulinally, of 

 C. coronata var. macrolophu, is exceedingly limited, it being confined to the central 

 ranges of the Rocky IMonntaiii system ; thus it is everywhere separated from the hab- 

 itat of stelleri var. fro>ilaliH, which is ecpially restricted longitudinally by that broad 

 desert expanse, the Great Basin, which ati'oids no sheltering woods, such as are fur- 

 nished on the two boundary barriers, the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, 

 ^vhich ejK'h represents. The, northern limit of the range of C. macroloplia passes just 

 a little beyond the southern limit of the habitat of the northern race of the coast 

 fctock, and at a latitude where the Great Basin becomes greatly reduced in width, or 

 even terminates, and where its two great mountain systems become less distinctly sep- 

 arated. Consequently the coast stock cannot grade into the Rocky Mountain one, by 

 approaching its habitat, until [except] before it becomes moditied into var. frontalis. 

 * * * * ^|jg coast stock reaches its southern limit with the Sierra Nevada, aud 

 this of course prevents it from passing into C. coronata var. diadcmafa." 



It will be observed that in this article Mr. Ridgway keeps the mountain and coast 

 stocks specitically separated, assigning the former to C. coronata as a variety. He, 

 however, admits their intergradation, saying : "As a summary of these facts, it appears 

 evident that the series of forms under consideration is divided into two well-marked 

 stocks, but that they intergrade at one point. The conclusion theu must be, that thej^ 

 are all moditicatious of one primitive species, or we must accept as the only alterna- 

 tive the hypothesis of hybridization." And again, sjieaking of the mountain varieties, 

 he says : '"It is jiossible, however, that even the C. ateJlcri may yet also have to be 

 combined with these," apparently overlooking the fact that !)■ th Mr. Allen and myself 

 (//. CO.) had already made the combination he indicates. Messrs. Baird and Ridgway 

 now combnie the whole series as one species with hve varieties, a procedure which I 

 endorsed without hesitation. 



Having enjoyed excellent facilities for studying the habits and man- 

 ners of the Long-crested Jay in the pine-clad mountains of Arizona, I 

 offered, on a i)revious occasion, an a(-c<)unt sul)stantiail,\ as follow.s : 



When I was traveling westward, in the spring of 18t!4, 1 saw some of 

 these Jays in the Raton Mountains, in New IMexico, which I believe to 

 be about their eastern limit, at least in this latitude, for they were 

 strongly attached to pine-(;lad mountains, and are found as high up as 

 timber grows. In crossing the liocky Mountains, through Whipple's 

 Pass, I did not happen to uu^et with any ; to the westward still, in the 

 lofty forests of the San Francisco Moiuitaiiis, they were abiuidant, and 

 at that time (July) had just reaied their families, and were rambling 

 through the to]^s of the trees together. The old birds were in sorry 

 j)lighi, literally with a "crest-fallen" air, and full of pin feathers. But 

 when I came across them the third time, in the pineries about Fort 

 Whi|)ple, they were in good trim oxwc more, and saucy as ever. They 

 live in the mountainous parts of Arizona all the year, for they are able 

 to endure severe cold, being of hardy nature, and well clothed with 

 soft, thick plunmge, while their food is such as can be procured at any 

 season. Thus being non-njigratory, their permanent habitat may be 

 given with some accuracy; it iix^ludes the wooded Rocky Mountain 

 region at large. To the north, and esi)eciallv about the Columbia River, 

 they become mixed up with 8teller''s Jay, which is the boreal extreme, 

 reaching into Alaska; while in the opposite direction they run into the 

 Cyanura coronata on the Table-lands of Mexico. 



