286 NORTH AiMKlllCAN BIRDS. 



ol' uihIlt parts dirty whitish-brown ; uiulci' tail-i'overts bhie, the tibia tinged with the 

 same. Leiij^'lh, 11.00; winj,', 'l,')!) ; tail, 0.70; tarsus, 1.45. 

 1 1 All. Florida only, and quite local. 



H.vnrrs. Tliis boiiiitiful sjicjii ,. appears to bo cxchisively coiifiuecl to 

 tbu pL'iiiusiilii of Florida, iiud tliere i.s no luitheiitio cvidouce that it Im.s cvor 

 been found outside of tlie limits of that State. The statement of IJouaparte, 

 that these birds are found in tlie States of Louisiana and Kentuciky, has 

 never been confirmeil, and Mr. Audubon, wlio was for many years a ri'sident 

 of botli States and familiar witii tiie birds of each, was very positive tlie 

 statement was without foundatiori. It luis never been observeil even in 

 (JeorLjia ov Alabama, and Air. Nuttall states that it is not fouuil in any part 

 of West Florida. 



Mr. Allen, in his recent paper on the winter birds of Etist Florida, speak- 

 ing of this species, states tliat it is numerous in the scrub, l)ut does not appear 

 to frequent the pine woods, the hummocks, or the swamps. He saw none 

 along the St. Jolin's, e.vcept at Blue Springs, but they occur in numbers a 

 few miles back from the river. 



Dr. Bryant, in liis Notes on tlic birds of Florida, mentions tliat this spe- 

 cies is tolerably ])lentiful in the vicinity of Enterprise. He regarded it 

 as exceedingly interesting on account of its limited geogra])hical distribu- 

 tion. Witii no apparent obstacle to its movements, it is yet confined to 

 a small ]iart of the peninsula of Florida, its area of distribution north and 

 south not exceeding tlu'ee degrees of latitude, if so much. He saw none 

 north of St. Augustine, and none south of Jupiter's Inlet. So far as lie 

 observed them, they were exclusively confined to the growth of scrub-oak, 

 wiiidi in many places is so entangled with creeping plants that it is im- 

 possible to walk through without cutting a path. This growth is genertUly 

 found on elevated ridges running parallel to the sea-coiist. Tlie most ex- 

 tensive of these, near Enterprise, is about three miles wide, and eighty feet 

 above tlie lake. 



The flight of this species is said by Mr. Audubon to be performed at a 

 short distance from the ground, and to consist cither of a single sailing 

 sweep, as it passes from one tree to another, or of continuous tlapi)ings witli 

 a sliglitly undulating motion, in the manner of the Canada Jay. Its notes 

 are described as softer than those of the Blue Jay, and more freciuently 

 uttered. Its motions arc also ([uicker and more abrupt. Its fond is said to 

 consist of snails, which it collects on the ground, insects, and various kinds 

 of fruits and berries. It is also charged with being very destructive of eggs 

 and yooug birds. 



Tlu! Florida Jay is said to be easily kept in confinement, feeding readily 

 on dried or fresh fruit and the kernels of various nuts, and soon a]tpears to 

 be reconciled to its loss of liberty. It secures its food between its feet, and 

 breaks it into ])ieces before swallowing it. In this way it feeds on the lu'orn 

 of the live-oak, snails, and the seeds of the sword-palmetto. 



