Notes on the Plumage of North American Birds 



FIFTY-FOURTH PAPER 

 By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



(See Frontispiece) 



Northern Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata cristata, Fig. i). — The brightly 

 colored Blue Jay, Steller's Jay, and Green Jay show their relationship to the 

 somber Crows and Ravens in undergoing very slight plumage changes. Essen- 

 tially the same 'uniform' is worn at all seasons by both sexes and all ages. The 

 head and body plumage only of the young is more or less dull compared to 

 that of their parents until, by a postjuvenal molt of the body plumage, they 

 pass into a first winter plumage like that of the adult, from which they are 

 henceforth indistinguishable. The juvenal Blue Jay has the crest shorter than 

 the adult, blue of head and back less bright, wing-coverts only indistinctly 

 barred, and black mark across the forehead indistinct. 



Steller's Jay {Cyanocitta stelleri, Fig. 2). — The young of the Blue-fronted 

 race of Steller's Jay {Cyanocitta stelleri frontalis) will stand for the various 

 races of that species. It lacks all blue in the head and body plumage except 

 a tinge on the side of the rump. Its crest is less full than that of the adult, 

 crown and back somewhat browner, throat with streaks only faintly indicated, 

 breast dark sooty gray, passing to dark ashy gray on belly and rump. 



Green Jay {Xanthoura luxuosa glaucescens, Fig. 3). — The juvenal Green 

 Jay has the blue of the head paler and more greenish than the adult, black of 

 the head and breast duller. Its underparts are pale grayish yellow only faintly 

 tinged with green on the breast. 



(172) 



