ICTERID^. CLXVI. 277 



460. CYANOCITTA Strickland, (xvavos, blue ; /ctVra, 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. 5J. T. 5|. 

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



461. PERISOREUS Bonaparte. (Trepio-wpevco, 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. RAVEN. 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.} 

 (Kopa, 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. 2f 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. ICTERIDJE- (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 FringillidcR ; others 



