TALAMANCA JAY 



comprise (in the crows and ravens) the 

 largest members of the song bird group, the 

 usually entirely black coloration of these 

 large members of the family being in strong 

 contrast to the strikingly variegated and 

 often bright colors of many of the jays. The 

 single Panamanian species of the family is 

 a typical representative of the latter group. 



i. Cyanocorax affinis zeledoni Ridgway 

 Talamanca Jay 



Length. Male. 354 mm. (13.90 in.); tail 

 163 mm. (6.60 in.). Female. 319 mm. (12.50 

 in.); tail 149 mm. (5.90 in.). 



Sexes alike. Forehead, crown, neck (except 

 hindneck) and chest black; a patch above and 

 one below eye and a streak from corner of mouth 

 through cheek bright blue; head posterior to 

 crown, and upper hindneck duller purplish blue, 

 remainder of hindneck, back and rump helio- 

 trope shading into more purplish on wings and 

 tail, the tail broadly tipped with cream; under 

 parts deep cream. 



Found in the forest along the rivers in small 

 flocks. I bought one in the market in Panama 

 City in 1921 and kept it for some time. It had 

 an interminable loud, monotonous call, chow 

 chow, chow chow, etc., which nearly drove us out 

 of the house, also a very harsh metallic note like 

 pulling a chain through a hole in a tin can. By 

 the latter call I located several in the forest 

 not far from Fort Sherman. 

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