Notes on the Plumage of North American Birds 



FIFTY-FIFTH PAPER 

 By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



(See Frontispiece) 



Canada Jay {Perisoreus canadensis canadensis, Fig. i). — In nestling plumage 

 the Canada Jay is almost uniformly dark slate or sooty, without trace of the 

 adult's white forehead or whitish underparts. Even the nostril bristles are 

 sooty. The wings and tail, however, resemble those of the adult, and they are 

 retained at the postjuvenal molt, the rest of the plumage being molted. The 

 new plumage is like that of the adult, and after the completion of the molt 

 young and old birds are essentially alike. There is no spring molt and the slight 

 difiference which exists between summer and winter plumage is due to wear and 

 fading. 



The Canada Jay ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in this great 

 area shows some racial or geographic variation, four subspecies of it being 

 currently recognized, as follows: 



The true Canada Jay (P. c. canadensis) is well shown in our plate. Note that 

 the black of the crown does not extend in front of the eye and that the forehead 

 is white. In the Labrador Jay {P. c. nigricapillus) the black of the hindhead 

 reaches in front of the eye. The Newfoundland Jay {P. c. sanfordi) is smaller 

 than the Labrador Jay and has the underparts paler. The Alaskan Jay (P. c. 

 fumifrons) , as its subspecific name indicates, has the forehead usually grayer, 

 more smoky than in the Canada Jay. In the Rocky Mountain Jay (P. c. capi- 

 talis), the dark forehead area is not much deeper in color than the back and 

 does not reach the eye. 



All these are representative forms which presumably intergrade, but from 

 northern California to southern British Columbia a Jay is found which, though 

 closely related to the Canada Jay, is specifically distinct from it. This is the 

 Oregon Jay (P. obscurus, Fig. 2), which has the underparts white and the back 

 browner than in the Canada Jay, with the dorsal feathers finely streaked with 

 white. Two subspecies of it have been described. 



Pinon Jay (Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus, Fig. 3). — The female Pinon Jay 

 averages grayer than the male, but the sexes cannot always be distinguished 

 in color. Nestlings resemble the grayish females. This species is the only 

 member of its genus, and it has no racial representatives. 



Clarke's JSutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana, Fig. 4.) — The sexes are alike 

 and the young on leaving the nest wear a plumage which resembles in color that 

 of their parents, but is somewhat paler below. Only the body plumage is shed 

 at the postjuvenal molt after which young and old are indistinguishable. Like 

 the Pinon Jay this species is the sole representative of its genus, and there are 

 no subspecies. 



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