164 CYANOC1TTA FLORIDANA. 



non-conductors of heat and cold as when dry, therefore they perished. These are the dark 

 days of Jay life, but usually at this season the time passes pleasantly, for they have their 

 stores to draw upon and they may be seen perched upon a branch holding a frozen chest- 

 nut in their claws, hammering at it briskly with their strong beaks until it is broken to 

 pieces when it is swallowed. On fine days they occasionally make excursions into the or- 

 chards in search of the eggs of insects, such as caterpillars and canker worms. Thus they 

 prove of some benefit to the husbandman but they are too great transgressors to be favorites 

 as they, not only steal the farmer's produce, as related, but also rob the nests of other 

 birds, even killing the young. 



In spite of their cautious disposition, Jays are stupid about some things; for example, 

 I know of but few birds that are easier to capture in snairs than this species. I have never 

 found any difficulty in taking them, even in box traps baited with an ear of corn. They 

 are not remarkably interesting as pets, as they do not become tame readily, but are not 

 especially shy in their native state when not molested and I have seen them very abundant 

 in the live oakes which stand in the streets of Jacksonville, Florida, often alighting with- 

 in a few feet of the heads of the pedestrians. They also become quite familiar on the 

 farms in the North, especially in winter, and I know of one that was accustomed to enter 

 a shed when the door was left open. He would hop about the floor or bask in the sun, 

 but was always ready to dart out whenever any one approached. The Jays of New England 

 breed the first week of May, placing the nest in low trees, often choosing a cedar or other 

 evergreen. The birds attend very closely to the duties of incubation, and even if the fe- 

 male be shy at other seasons it is difficult to make her leave her eggs then. When the 

 young appear both parents are very assiduous in guarding them. The newly fledged nest- 

 lings may be found in the woods by the first of July, and the families remain in company 

 until the following summer. The Jays are not usually migratory, or at best, only during 

 some of the severest seasons, when those from the North occasionally come as far south 

 as Massachusetts. 



GENUS III. CYANOCITTA. THE BUSH JAYS. 



GEN. CH. Bill, stout and conical, shorter than the head which is not crested. Wings, shorter than the tail which is 

 graduated. Coracoids, proportionately shorter than those of the preceding genus. Marginal indentations equating in depth 

 the height of the keel. Size, not large. 



The prevailing color above is blue, with an ashy patch on the back, but they are lighter below. The wing^ are not 

 barred. 



CYANOCITTA FLORIDANA. 



Florida Jay. 

 Cyanocilla F/oridana BON., List; 1838. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, rather slender. Size, medium. Bill, rather thick and conical, with the upper mandible slightly curv- 

 ed. Sternum, as given above. Tongue, broad, thin and horny, bifid , and provided with coarse, terminal cilia which extend 

 along the sides. 



