Report of Council Meeting.



23



need of concealment in the vicinity. He would shriek and cry his

loudest, alarming the most confiding species, and making every bird

within a quarter of a mile uneasy and suspicious. Some of these

Jays have white throats, outlined by a band of blue, while in others

the whole throat and front of the neck is black. Perfect gradations

existed between these two extremes, the difference being due solely

to age. The Jays seemed to feed on anything—nuts, seeds, berries,

insects, and even small birds, which, apparently paralysed with

fear at the shrieks of the blue marauders, were an easy prey.”


With regard to gradations of colours, mentioned by Mr.

Beebe, it is curious that the little blue and black Yucatan Jay has

the bill bright yellow for the first year of its life, after which it

gradually changes to black, and one then has a small Magpie-shaped

bird with black bill, head, and underparts, yellow legs, feet, and rim

round eyes ; the upperparts, with wings and tail, being a uniform

and very lovely shade of Kingfisher blue. Mr. Goodfellow brought

from Ecuador for Mr. Brook, in the noted collection which arrived

in London on September 7th, 1915, a lovely pair of all-blue Jays

(? the Azure Jay), which unfortunately died a short time after of lung

disease. They would have been most beautiful had they survived to

acquire a fresh suit of clean feathers.


Perhaps some other member will write for the magazine upon

this interesting and handsome family.



REPORT OF COUNCIL MEETING.


A Council Meeting of the Society was held, by kind permission

of the Zoological Society, at Regent’s Park on October 11th, 1916.

The following members were present:


Mr. Meade-Waldo (in the chair), the Hon. Editor (Mr. H. D.

Astley), the Hon. Treasurer (Mr. B. C. Thomasset), the Hon. Secre¬

tary (Dr. L. Lovell-Keays), Miss Chawner, Mr. R. I. Pocock, Mr. D.

Seth-Smith, Mr. A. Ezra, Miss Alderson.


Letters of regret for non-attendance were received from: Mr.

Shore Baily, Mr. St. Quintin, Mr. Willford, Dr. Butler, Mr. Ogilvie- •

Grant, Mr. Trevor-Battye, Dr. Amsler.



