Appendix, 



THE FAMILY OF CROWS, JAYS AND MAGPIES. 



84. American Magpie ; Pica pica hudsontca 

 (Sab.). 



A characteristic and easily recognizable bird of the 

 desert region east of the Sierra Nevada Moun- 

 tains. Length about a foot and a half; tail long 

 and tapering from the central feather. Head, 

 back and breast smoky black; wings and tail 

 iridescent purplish and greenish black. Shoulder 

 patches and belly white; bill black. 



85. Yellow-billed Magpie; Pica nuttalh A\xd, 



Almost identical with the preceding, but with a 

 yellow bill. Common in the interior valleys of 

 the State. 



86. Stellar's Jay ; Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmel.). 



A noisy bird of the pines and redwoods ; large, 

 about a foot in length. Crested; fore part of 

 body dark sooty, turning into a dark blue on 

 remaining portions. On the wings and tail the 

 blue is brighter and barred with blackish. 

 Stellar's jay is the western representative of the 

 eastern blue jay, from which it differs greatly, 

 however. It is darker along the northwest 

 coast of California and from there northward, 

 representing the typical Stellar's variety. In 

 the remaining portions of CaHfornia, where it is 

 everywhere abundant in the mountains, it has a 

 number of blue streaks on the forehead and about 

 the face, and the general color is rather lighter. 

 This variety is known as the Blue-fronted 



