THE BLUE JAY. 3G1 



Tlui type specimen, No. 20372 (PI. 5, Fig. 5), Bendii-e collection, from a 

 set of three eg-gs, taken June 11, 1876, near Muscatine, Iowa, and No. 25cSS3 

 (PI. 5, Fig. 6), Ralph collection, from a set of five eggs, taken l)y Dr. William 

 L. Ralph, near Floyd, Oneida County, New York, represent the two i)revailing 

 types of coloration of the eggs of this species. 



140. Cyanocitta cristata florincola (Joues. 



FLOKIDA BLI'K .lAY. 



Gij(tnocift(t cristata fori iiruld CouES, Key, ed. 2, ISS-l, 4111. 



(B — , O — , K — , — , IT 477rt.) 



Geographical range: Florida ami the Gulf coast to southeasteru Texas; casually 

 to south western Texas (Bexar County). 



The Florida l^lue Jay is a slightly smaller hird tliaii its northern relative, 

 and is a common resident in certain localities, breeding throughont its range. 

 It is somewhat duller in plumage than the latter, the white on the ti])s of the 

 secondai'ies and tail feathers being more restricted. It has been taken in south- 

 ern Louisiana, and the late Mr. Charles W. Beckham fomid it at Leon Springs, 

 some 20 miles northwest of San Antonio, in March, 1887, this being the most 

 westerly record for this sulispecies. It is evidently rare in tliat vicinity, as Mr. 

 H. P. Attwater does not give it in his list of birds observed in the vicinity of 

 San Antonio, Texas. 



It is quite common in many })arts of Florida, and Dr. William L. Ralj)h 

 has taken several nests and eggs in the neighborhood of San Mateo, Florida. 

 He tells me that its general habits are similar to those of the Blue Jay, and 

 one of its favorite foods here is the seed of the cal)bage palmetto. Wliere 

 not much molested it l)ec(imes even tamer and more familiar than its north- 

 ern relative, and breeds like it in the vicinity of houses, among the orange 

 groves. Two nests found by Dr. Ralph were placed in low, flat jiine woods, 

 25 and 30 feet, respectively, from the ground; these were composed of twigs, 

 Spanish moss, pine needles, and pieces of cloth, and lined with tine roots. In 

 some of the nests the materials were cemented together with imul. A third 

 nest was placed in an orange tree standing within a few feet of a lionse, near 

 the banks of the St. John's River, about 20 feet from the groniid; it was com- 

 posed of twigs, catkins, plant fibers, wee^Js, grasses, pieces of string, and a 

 little Spanish moss, and these materials were cemented together with mud; the 

 lining consisted entirely of wire grass (Aristida). Another nest was placed 

 among some small branches at the end of a limb of an orange tree, about 11 feet 

 from the ground, and was composed of similar materials outwardh', but no mud 

 was nsed in its construction, antl it was thickly lined with fine rootlets of the 

 orange tree. 



The average measurement of two nests is about 8 inches in outside diameter 

 by 4 inches in dei)th, the inner cup measuring about 4 inches in diameter by 2^ 

 inches in depth. 



