24 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



species of jays. So far as I am advised, the blue jay, cyano- 

 citta cristatta, is the only species of this subfamily that is 

 found in the Middle States. Of all our native birds, it, perhaps, 

 is the most conspicious throughout the year. In outward ap- 

 pearance there is no reason why it should have been placed 

 with the crow in the family corvidae; systemists tell us, how- 

 ever, that structurally they are very much alike. 



The general colors of the blue jay are purplish and ultra- 

 marine; the bill is dark and well proportioned; the head is 

 ornamented with a light blue crest, which can be elevated or 

 depressed at the pleasure of the bird ; a narrow line of black 

 runs along the frontlet, rising on each side higher than the 

 eye, but not passing over it ; iris of the eye hazel ; collar of 

 black proceeding from behind the head, passes with a graceful 

 curve down each side of the neck to the upper part of the 

 breast, where it forms a crescent ; wings and tail are about the 

 same length, well rounded and beautifully barred with black ; 

 the tips of the primaries and secondaries of the wings and 

 the tail feathers are white ; breast and sides under the wings 

 dirty white, faintly stained with purple ; belly reddish-white ; 

 legs and feet black ; toes, four in number, are strong, with 

 hind claw large and longer than the toe. There is little, if any, 

 difference in the appearance of the sexes. 



The range of the blue jay extends from the Texas and 

 Florida coast north through the United States, east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, to New Foundland and Hudson Bay. They 

 breed throughout their entire range. They are, however, non- 

 migrants ; when once located they remain with us all the year, 

 and are always ready to make themselves known. During 

 the second week in January 1898, I was at Buzzard's Roost 

 on a tramp. The forest was most beautifully bedecked with 

 snow and in the very midst of it I came upon a cardinal, blue 

 jay and winter wren upon the same tree. The cardinal was 

 shy, the blue jay saucy and the wren just as busy as it could 

 be at work searching for food. Another of my pleasant recol- 

 lections is that of a tramp made several years ago in January, 

 the next morning after a deep snow had fallen. The day was 

 one of those cold, crisp ones that makes the blood tingle in 

 one's veins. I took an interurban car and went far out into 



