326 



THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



another lot of eggs is laid. The male bird helps to feed and 

 tend the joung but I do not think does much if any of the 

 work of incubation. 



Family CORVID^. Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc. 



Key to the species of CORVIDiE. 



A. Plumage glossy black. 



1. Bill over 2.50. Northern Raven. 



2. Bill under 2.50. American Crow. 



B. Plumage not black. 



1. Back blue. Blue Jay. 



2. Back gray. Canada Jay. 



Subfamily GARRULIN^. Magpies and Jays. 

 Genus CYANOCITTA Strickland. 



477. Cyanocitta cristata (Linn.). Blue Jay. 



Plumage : above grayish blue save for a black band across back of head 

 which continues down the neck and across the breast; wing coverts and 

 secondaries tipped with white and barred with black ; outer webs of primar- 

 ies blue, inner webs slaty gray ; tail blue, barred with black and all but the 

 inner feathers white tipped ; head prominently crested ; below dusky whitish 

 or grayish. Wing 5.30 ; culmen 0.98 ; tarsus 1.30. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America, breeding from the Fur Countries to 

 Florida and Texas, west to the Plains ; resident where found except in the 

 very northern portions of its range. 



County ^ Records. — Androscoggin; common resident, (Johnson). Aroos- 

 took; quite common resident, (Knight). Cumberland; common resident, 

 (Mead). Franklin ; common resident, (Swainj. Hancock; common resident 

 inland, rare indeed on the islands, (Knight). Kennebec; quite common 

 resident, (Sanborn). Knox; summer, (Rackliff). Oxford ; breeds commonly, 

 (Nash). Penobscot; resident, most often seen in fall, retires to most se- 

 cluded spots in spring and summer, (Knight). Piscataquis; common resi- 

 dent, (Homer). Sagadahoc; common resident, (Spinney). Somerset; not 

 very common resident, (Morrell). Waldo; common resident, (Knight). 

 Washington ; common resident, (Boardman). York ; all too common, (Adams). 



The Blue Jay is a character whose history would make a 



volume by itself, and who indeed can write it.? The author 



has studied this bird in the north, south, east and west and 



