THE BRITISH JAY. 29 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. Fore-head and 

 crown whitish, streaked black (amount and width of streaks vary 

 individually ; feathers of crown very narrow and crest-like) ; 

 nape brownish-pink, finely-streaked black and usually with faint 

 narrow cross-bars and often tinged blue ; back of neck and mantle 

 brownish-pink ; back and scapulars same but tinged grey ; rump 

 and upper tail-coverts wiiite ; sides of neck, breast, flanks, axil- 

 laries, and under wing-coverts brownish-pink ; ear-coverts same 

 but generally whitish near eye ; broad black moustachial stripe ; 

 chin, throat, centre of belly, and under tail-coverts white ; tail 

 brown-black with base grey, barred blue-grey ; primaries brown- 

 black with outer webs fringed greyish-white and inner webs 

 mottled bluish at base ; secondaries black with basal half of outer 

 webs of first five white marked blue and black, and base of 6th 

 barred blue, white, and black, innermost deep chestnut, tipped 

 black ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and outer greater coverts 

 blue, barred black and narrowly barred white, rest of greater 

 coverts black ; median coverts chestnut with narrow greyish bars ; 

 lesser coverts brownish-pink. This plumage is acquired by com- 

 plete moult in early autumn. Summer. No moult. Abrasion 

 makes mantle browner and less pink, and under-parts more buff 

 and less pink. 



Nestling. Down, absent. Mouth, inside pink ; no spots 

 (C. B. Ticehurst, Brit. B., iv, p. 72). 



Juvenile. Like adult but with smaller dark streaks on fore- 

 head and crown, and more foxy-red, not so pink, on upper-parts, 

 and reddish-buff, not pink, on breast and flanks. 



First winter and summer. Like adult. The juvenile body- 

 feathers and lesser wing-coverts are moulted in autumn but not 

 remiges, rectrices, primary- and greater coverts. 



Measurements and structure. ^ wing 173-185 mm., tail 

 134-147, tarsus 40-44, bill from skull 29-35 (12 measured). 

 $ wing 170-188. Primaries : 1st about two-thirds 2nd, 2nd equal 

 to or 1-12 mm. shorter than 10th, 5th and 6th nearly equal and 

 longest, 4th and 7th 2-8 mm. shorter, 3rd 10-16 shorter ; 4th to 

 7th slightly emarginated outer webs. Secondaries about 10 mm. 

 shorter than 10th primary. Tail almost square, slightly rounded 

 laterally. Bill short and thickish, slightly hooked at tip. Nostrils 

 covered with bristle-like feathers ; a few longish rictal bristles. 



Soft parts. Bill blackish-horn ; legs and feet pale brown ; 

 iris whitish-blue (adult), brown (juvenile). 



CHARACTERS AND ALLIED FORMS. For differences of Continental 

 and Irish Jays see under those forms. There are many other 

 nearly allied forms which differ in measurements and shades of 

 colour, while others such as G. g. atricapillus (Syria and south- 

 west Persia), G. g. cervicalis (north Algeria and north Tunisia) have 

 black crowns. Blue wing and white rump are specific characters. 



FIELD-CHARACTERS. Vinaceous body-colour, white and black 



