AVES— JAY. 4S3 



This bird is eleven inches in length : his head is ornamented with a crest 

 of light blue or purple feathers, which he can elevate or depress at pleasure. 

 Whole upper parts light blue or purple, a collar of black passes down each 

 side of the neck, and forms a crescent on the upper part of the breast. 

 The under parts are white. The tail is long, and light blue, tipped with, 

 black. 



CANADA JAY.i 



This species inhabits the country from Hudson's Bay to the river St. Law- 

 rence ; also in winter, the inland parts of the state of Maine, and northern 

 parts of the states of Vermont and New York. When the season is very 

 severe with deep snow, they sometimes advance farther south ; but generally 

 return northward as the weather becomes mild. The character of this bird 

 by the people of those parts of the country it inhabits, is, that it feeds on 

 black moss, worms, and even flesh; when near habitations or tents, it pilfers 

 every thing it can come at — is very bold, and comes even to the tents to eat 

 meat out of the dishes ; — watches the hunters while baiting their traps for 

 martens, and devours the bait as soon as their backs are turned ; that they 

 breed early in the spring, building their nests on pine trees, forming them 

 of sticks and grass ; that they fly in pairs ; lay up hoards of berries in hol- 

 low trees; are a kind of* mock-bird ; and when caught, pine away, though, 

 their appetite never fails them. They are, Ave are informed, detested by the 

 natives. 



The Canada jay is eleven inches long, of a dull leaden gray color; the 

 under parts are brownish white. The whole plumage on the back is long, 

 loose, and in great abundance. 



STELLER'S JAY. 2 



This elegant bird is more than twelve inches long. The head, neck, and 

 crest, and part of the back, are of a broAvnish black, the throat grayish, and 

 the rest of the plumage of a beautiful blue. The feathers on the front of the 

 head are tipped with blue. One specimen of this bird was shot near 

 Columbia River, and another of more brilliant plumage, in Mexico. Of its 

 habits little or nothing is known. It inhabits the western territories of the 

 . United States, beyond the Rocky Mountains; and is known on the coast of 

 America, from California to Nootka Sound. 



1 Corvus Canadensis, Lin. ^ Corvus Stelleri, Gsiel. 



