CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 



255 



nal to liis companions, brcakfastinf? in a near-by oak or chestnut, 

 "Here, here, hero's some fun!" and the poor, blinking Owl ho has 

 discovered looks helplessly at the blue-coated mob, whose uproar alone 

 is terrifying. Suddenly there is absolute silence; every Jay has dis- 

 appeared. Some one of them lias seen you, and not until your silence 

 reassures the band will they return to the sport of teasing their victim. 

 The Blue Jay is both a mimic and a ventriloquist. Besides an in- 

 exhaustible stock of whistles and calls of his own, he imitates the notes 

 of other species, notably those of the iled-shouldered, Red-tail, and 

 Sparrow Hawks. 



477a. C C. florincola Coutg. Flokida Bli-e Jay.— Similur to tlio 

 preceding wpecidis, but siiuiUer, tho upper parts soiuewluit t^rayor, the white 

 tips to the feathera narrower, those on the outer pair of tail-featlicrs gtncruUy 

 less than 1-00 in width. L., 10-75 ; W., 5-15 ; T., 480 ; B., -96. 



Kange. — Florida und Gulf coast region to Texas. 



Blue Jays in Florida are much more familiar than our Jays at the 

 north. They are common inhabitants of towns with live-oaks, and 

 hop about the fences and gardens with all tho domesticity of the 

 Robins on our lawns. It has always seemed to me that the Florida 

 birds were possessed of greater vocabularies than their iu)rthcrn 

 brethren. 



The Maoi'Ik {47-'i. P/'ca picn huditoniea) inhabits western North America; 

 stragglers have Ijeen recorded from as far east as Montreal and Illinois. 



479. Aphelocoma floridana {Jiurtr.). Florida Jay. .I'i.—Top 

 and sides of the head and neciv, wings and tail, grayish blue ; bacli palo 

 brownish gray ; under parts dirty white, obscurely streaked on tlie throat and 

 breast; sides of the breast and faint breast-band grayish blue. L., ll'SO; 

 W., 4-45 ; T., 5-40 ; B., -98. 



Range. — Florida; of local distribution, chiclly along the coasts, between 

 lat. 27° and 30°. 



Nest^ of sticks and roots lined with weeds and rootlets, in bushes. Eggs^ 

 four, olive-green spotted and blotched with black, 1'17 x •lb (Maynard). 



" The Florida Jays are noisy birds at all times, and the first inti- 

 mation which one receives of their presence is a harsh scream which is 

 given as a note of alarm. As they usually move in flocks, this cry is 

 taken up by others, and soon the scrub for many rods around will bo 

 resounding with these peculiar sounds. When undisturbed they feed 

 on the ground or in bushes, but, upon the approach of an intruder, 

 they will mount the highest point available, whore they remain until 

 driven away. They are not usually shy. and will allow one to ap- 

 proach them quite closely, but when one or two are shot the survivors 

 usually disappear. . . . They will glide through the bushes with re- 

 markable rapidity, never once showing themselves, or, if they have an 



