ICTERIDA. — CLXVI. rare 
460. CYANOCITTA Strickland. (kvavos, blue; xirra, jay.) 
875. C. cristata (L.). Biure Jay. Blue; collar and frontlet 
black ; grayish below; wings and tail clear blue, barred; outer tail 
feathers and secondaries tipped with white. L.12. W. 54. T. 53. 
E. N. Am., very abundant. (Lat., crested.) 
461. PERISOREUS Bonaparte. (mepicwpedo, to accumulate.) 
876. P. canadensis (L.). Canapa Jay. GrAyJAy. WHIs- 
KEY JACK. Ashy gray, with blackish and whitish markings. L. 
103. W. 53. T.6. N.N.Am., S. in winter, to Mich. and Me. 
462. CORVUS Linneus. (Lat., crow.) 
a. Plumage entirely lustrous black. 
877. C. corax L. Raven. Feathers of throat stiffened, elon- 
gated, narrow, and lanceolate, their outlines very distinct. L. 25. 
W.17. T.10. Northern regions; rare E. of Miss. R. The Amer- 
ican forms are var. principalis Ridgway, — New Brunswick, N. with 
larger bill; and var. sinuatus Wagler, — W. U. S., with slender bill 
and tarsus. The Kur. bird has bill shorter and deeper. (Ew.) 
(képa&, raven.) 
878. C. americanus Audubon. Crow. Feathers of throat 
short, broad, obtuse, with their webs blended ; gloss of plumage 
purplish violet; head and neck scarcely lustrous. L.20. W. 13. 
T..8.. Ts. 24. B. 2. N. Am., abundant; variable. 
879. C. ossifragus Wilson. Fis Crow., Gloss of plumage 
green and violet, evident on head and neck ; feathers of throat 
short, blended. L.16. W.11. T.7. B.1% Ts. 13. N.Y. to 
La., only along the coast. (Lat., bone-breaker.) 
Famity CLXVI. ICTERIDA. (THe American “ORI- 
OLES” AND “ BLACKBIRDS.”’) 
Primaries 9; bill with the commissure angulated, as in Fringil- 
lide, but usually lengthened, rarely shorter than head, straight or 
gently curved, without notch or rictal bristles ; culmen usually ex- 
tending up on the forehead, dividing the frontal feathers. Legs 
stout, usually adapted for walking. Plumage usually brilliant or 
lustrous, the predominant color generally black, often with red or 
yellow ; females usually different, smaller in size, brown or streaky 
in the lustrous species, and yellowish or dusky in the brightly col- 
ored ones. Notes usually sharp, often richly melodious, in other 
cases harsh. Excepting the “ Orioles,” the species feed chiefly on 
seeds. 
Genera about 20, species 100, all American, some of the short- 
billed forms forming a perfect transition to the Fringillid@ ; others 
