FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



' These birds are common a few miles below Rio Grande 

 City, but are never seen above this place.' 



"The ' Pajaro verde,' as this bird is called by the 

 Spanish-speaking population of this region, is a 

 common resident throughout the heavier timbered river 

 bottoms and the chaparral bordering the Rio Grande, 

 especially in the vicinity of Hidalgo and Lornita, and 

 breeds wherever found. 



"Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, in 

 speaking of this species, says : ' The Rio Grande Jay 

 is a common resident about Fort Brown and higher up 

 the river, but does not seem to pass much into the 

 interior of Texas. It is a noisy and gaudy species, 

 soon making its presence known by it's harsh cries or 

 by its green and yellow plumage, seen for a moment as 

 it moves about. Though at times shy, it is often very 

 tame and bold, entering tents and taking food off of 

 plates or from the kitchen, whenever a good oppor- 

 tunity offers. Large numbers are caught by the soldiers 

 in traps baited with corn, but their plumage is their 

 only attraction as a cage-bird.' 



" There is little or no difference in the general habits 

 of the Green Jay from those of the other members of 

 the family. 



" Mr. George B. Sennett says : ' Of all the birds on 

 the lower Rio Grande, this is the most mischievous, 

 robbing and despoiling other birds' nests without 

 mercy. ' 



" Very little has as yet been recorded regarding the 

 food of this Jay, excepting what I have already men- 

 tioned, but it is' presumable that it does not vary much 

 from that of our better-known species. The nesting- 

 season commences early in April and lasts through 

 May. The first nest and eggs brought 1 to the attention 

 of naturalists, as far as I am aware, are those taken 

 by Dr. Merrill on May 27, 1876, near Edinburg (now 

 Hidalgo), Texas, about seventy miles above Fort 

 Brown, on the Rio Grande, and recorded in the 

 'Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club,' 1876 

 (Vol. I. , p. 89). This is described as follows : ' It was 

 placed on the horizontal branch of a waican tree, about 

 25ft. from the ground, and was built of twigs and 

 rootlets. The cavity was slight, and the entire struc- 

 ture so thin that the eggs could be seen through the 

 bottom. They were three in number and quite fresh.' 

 " Two nests now in the United States National 

 Museum collection resemble the above, and are frailer 

 than any other Jays' nests I have ever seen. They do 

 not always build such slight structures, however. Mr. 

 Sennett describes one as follows : ' The nest of the 

 Jay was some 9ft. from the ground, on the outer 

 branches of a small tree, and composed wholly of 

 sticks and fine twigs. The sticks were so full of 

 thorns that; when they were crossed about among the 

 riving branches more firmness was given to the nest 

 than usual, and by cutting off the branches I could 

 readily take it entire. The outside diameter is 9 inches 

 one way by 8 the other ; its depth is 4 inches ; inside 

 it is 3^ inches wide by 2 inches deep.' 



" The nests are generally placed in dense thickets 

 and well hidden among the branches at heights vary- 

 ing usually from 5 to 10 feet from the ground, and 

 rarely in large trees. They are frequently found in 

 retama, anacahuita, brasil, and hackberry bushes or 

 trees. The outer nest consists usually of a slight plat- 

 form of small thorny twigs and branches, sparingly 

 lined with fine rootlets, small pieces of a wire-like 

 vine, bits of moss, and occasionally dry grass and 

 leaves. The Green Jay apparently does not use mud 

 in the construction of its nest. The earliest 

 breeding record I have is April 3, and the latest is 

 May 26. The breeding season is at its height during 



the last week in April and the first week in May. It 

 is probable that two broods are sometimes raised in a 

 season. The length of incubation is not' likely to vary 

 more than a day of so from that of our better-known 

 Jays. 



" The number of eggs laid by this species is from 

 three to five ; sets of four are most often found. The 

 prevailing ground colour of these eggs is grayish- white, 

 occasionally pale greenish-white or buff colour. They 

 are profusely spotted and blotched but never heavily 

 enough to hide the ground colour with different 

 shades of brown, gray, and lavender ; these markings 

 are generally more abundant about the larger end of 

 the egg. The shell is close-grained, moderately strong, 

 and shows little or no gloss. Their shape is mostly 

 ovate, and sometimes short ovate. 



" The average measurements of seventy eggs in 

 the United States National Museum collection is 27.31 

 x 20.43 millimetres, or about 1.08 x 0.80 inches. The 

 largest egg of the series measures 30.78 x 21.84 milli- 

 metres, or 1.21 x 0.86 inches ; the smallest, 24.89 x 

 19.30 millimetres, or 0.98 x 0.76 inch." 



The London Zoological Society purchased three 

 examples of this Jay in December, 1876 ; then for a 

 time it was occasionally seen in the market. Later it 

 arrived in greater numbers in the hands of the whole- 

 sale dealers, its price in Germany being from 20 to 

 30 marks for a specimen ; now, under the existing 

 restrictive laws, it is bound to become very rare in the 

 trade. 



BEECHEY'S JAY (Xanthura beecheii).* 

 Above purplish or smalt blue, brighter on rump and 

 upper tail-coverts ; quills black internally, with the 

 exception of the inner secondaries ; head, nape, hind 

 neck and under surface black ; thighs, under wing and 

 tail-coverts purplish-blue ; bill black or yellow ; feet 

 yellow ; irides yellow. Female smaller than male ; bill 

 yellow; irides grey. Hab., N. W. Mexico. 



Russ says of this species: " Reidie, of Alfeld, near 

 Hanover, "imported it alive in the year 1886, and sent 

 me the female for identification. In the same year this 

 species reached the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens." He 

 -MAS that Gray son met with it commonly in low bushy 

 forest, wihich it eeemed to prefer to the higher woods 

 in some parts of the country. 



YUCATAN JAY (Xanthura yucatanica). 



Above deep turquoise blue, inner secondaries some- 

 what greener; tail deeper blue; head, neck, and under 

 surface black, passing into dull blue on under tail- 

 i -nvorts; bill black; feet yellow, irides probably yellow. 

 Female smaller according to Sharpe, larger according to 

 Ridgway. Sharpe's female with yellow bill and white- 

 tipped 1 'tail-feathers represents Ridgway's immature 

 birds. Hab. Yucatan, British Honduras, Eastern 

 Guatemala, South-eastern Mexico. 



The London Zoological Gardens acquired' two males in 

 1884 and two females in 1886. 



HAUTLATTB'S JAY (Xanthura melanocyanea). 



Above uniform greenish blue, varying almost to cobalt 

 blue in certain lights; tail darker and more purplish. 

 less greenish; head, neck, chest, and breast black ; rest 

 of under surface dull grey- greenish blue ; bill and feet 

 black ; (or yellow, Ridgway) ; irides yellow (red, Sharpe). 

 Female larger, according to Ridgway. Hab.. Highlands 

 of Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras and Chontales, 

 Nicaragua. 



A woodland bird Avhich, according to Salvin and God- 

 man, breeds in April and May, and forms a loose nest of 



* BidgTvay refems thie species to the genus Cissilopha. 



