27. CTAXOCITTA. 109 



Pica stelleri, Wtujler, Syst. Ac. Pica, sp. 10. 



Cyanocurax stelleri, Oray, Gen. B. ii. p. 307 ; Fi/isch, Ahhandl. nat. 



Ver. ljrc}jien, iii. p. 40. 

 Cvanocitta stelleri, Strickl. Ann. N. Hist. 1845, xv. p. 201 ; Cab. 



"Mxs. Hcin. Th. i. p. 221. 

 CyanogaiTulus stelleri, Bp. Consp. i. p. 377. 

 Cyanura stelleri, var. frontalis, Ilidyw. Ainer. Jmirn. Sci. i^- Arts, v. 



p. 43; Baird, Brewer, i) Bidyw. N.-Ainer. B. ii. p. 279, pi. 39. fig. 



2 ; Cones, B. N. West, p. 215. 



Adult. Head and crest sooty black, including the sides of the face, 

 sides of neck, entire throat and fore neck ; the face and crown rather 

 deeper black, with a few silvery blue streaks on the former ; mantle 

 and upper back sooty black, with an imperceptible shade of greyish 

 blue ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts verditer-blue, 

 brighter on the latter ; tail ultramarine, with indistinct dusky cross 

 bars under certain lights ; wings ultramarine, the inner webs of the 

 quills black, the secondaries rather brighter, the inner ones barred 

 externally with black ; the primaries externally verditer, as also are 

 the adjacent wing- coverts ; the greater coverts with indistinct dusky 

 blackish bars ; throat and fore neck sooty black, deeper in shade than 

 on the mantle, the chin and upper throat streaked with greyish ; all 

 the rest of the under surface of the body verditer-blue, including the 

 under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts and thighs black, the latter 

 slightly -shaded with blue, as also the edge of the wing ; bill and lege 

 black ; iris hazel. ' Total length 12 inches, culraen 1'2, wing b-h, 

 tail 0, tarsus 0-8. 



Ohs. The throat-marking varies extremelj-, even in specimens 

 from the same locality, being very plain in some, almost obsolete in 

 others. 



Mr. Eidgway separates a race as frontalis, and says that " aU refe- 

 rences to Steller's Jay as occurring in California, excepting on the 

 northern coast-range, relate to this bird." From his synopsis we 

 gather that this race has the following characters : — •' The whole 

 head, neck, jugulum. and dorsal region plumbeous umber " instead 

 of "sooty black;'' the "forehead conspicuously streaked with blue, 

 and the crest washed with the same." The blue colour is " of two 

 different shades, the wings and tail being deep indigo, the body and 

 tail-coverts greenish cobalt-blue ; whereas in true C. stelhri the 

 blue everywhere is of a uniform dull greenish blue shade."' Although 

 the blue of the back and wings is deeper in the latter bird, it is true 

 there is considerable contrast in the two tints, and the Californian 

 Blue Jay does not show much ditference, at least as far as I have 

 examined specimens. Xone of them exhibited the least shade of bliK) 

 on the crest ; but all were much browner on the head and neck. Pop 

 this reason I do not admit C. frontalis as a distinct race. 



Hub. Eastern Xorth America, west to the Missouri. North- 

 eastern Texas, north to Red Itiver and Moose Factory (^liidfjivaij). 



