Some Blue Jays. 49 



Another pair J have, from Central America, are only 

 about half the size. The colotir areas are the same, except 

 lower parts, which are black, l)nt the l)lue is mttch paler. The}' 

 were sold to me as Yucatan Jays, but Dr. Amsler tells me that 

 these have yellow leg^s. and, as mine are blackish, f take it they 

 must be referred to some other species. 



Another bird I was offered recently was of a uniform 

 scjoty blue, but as the price asked was hig-h, and it was not a 

 pretty bird. T did not take it. This may have been Xanthura 

 hcccheu. 



One other Jay in my collection is the Pileated Jay (Cyan- 

 ocorax chrysops). This is a pretty bird, with a great deal of 

 white about it, and much about the size of our English Jay 

 It has a damaged wing and cannot tiy, but this disability does not 

 seem to worry it greatly, as it is extremely active in climbing 

 about the bushes and perches of its aviary. 



Writing of the Azure Jay in the Ibis. Mr. J. Graham Kerr 

 says: " Very common in the hardwood forests, and sometimes 

 strag'g'ling" into the open. Tt has been described as being 

 extremely shy, but T found this to be the case only with the 

 scattered individuals one sees outside the limits of the forest. 

 Within the forest, where it is generally found in company with 

 C. chrysops. it even exceeds its companion in boldness and 

 curiosity. It is always the first to catch sight of a stranger 

 within the forest, hopping about in the branches all round him, 

 peering at him curiously and all the while raising an alarm with 

 harsh cries (caa-caa-caa). The natural boldness of the bird w^as 

 nell shown by the behaviour of one shot in the wing by Col. 

 Ralcedo, and given to me. The wing was shattered at the 

 carpal joint, so I snipped off the entire manus, and dusted 

 iodoform over the wound, to stop the bleeding. The bird 

 remained for several hours very weak from shock and loss of 

 blood, but next morning was again quite lively. It hopped 

 about with the utmost confidence, ate and drank out of my hand, 

 and finally had the presumption to jump upon my knee, and 

 begin to tear pieces of flesh out of a bird which I was dissecting 

 at the time. When out in the open, on tne other hand, this 

 species is exceedingly wary and difficult to approach." 



