ICTERID^l. CLXVI. 277 



460. CYANOCITTA Strickland, (KVCIVOS, blue ; <a'rra, jay.) 



875. C. cristata (L.). BLUE 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. 5^. T. 5|. 

 E. N. Am., very abundant. (Lat., crested.) 



461. FERISOREUS Bonaparte. (Trfpitrcopevw, to accumulate.) 



876. P. canadensis (L.). CANADA JAY. GRAY JAY. WHIS- 

 KEY JACK. Ashy gray, with blackish and whitish markings. L. 

 lOf . W. 5f. T. 6. N. N. Am., S. in winter, to Mich, and Me. 



462. CORVUS Linnaeus. (Lat., crow.) 

 a. Plumage entirely lustrous black. 



877. C. corax L. RAVEX. 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 Eur. bird has bill shorter and deeper. (Eu.) 

 (itopag, 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. 2. B. 2. N. Am., abundant ; variable. 



879. C. ossifragus Wilson. FISH CROW. Gloss of plumage 

 green and violet, evident on head and neck ; feathers of throat 

 short, blended. L. 16. W. 11. T. 7. B. If. Ts. If. N. Y. to 

 La., only along the coast. (Lat., bone-breaker.) 



FAMILY CLXVI. ICTERID^B. (THE AMERICAN "ORI- 

 OLES " AND " BLACKBIRDS.") 



Primaries 9 ; bill with the commissure angulated, as in Fringil- 

 lidce, 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 Fringillidce ; others 



