$6 Mr. H. C. Martin,


believe the ladies call it, from beneath which falls away a patch

of light lilac-blue feathers, making a very sudden contrast above

and blending below into the dark blue of the back. The little

brilliant blue eye-patches and darker purplish blue patches at the

base of the lower mandible are disposed in almost the same way

as in the Blue-bearded Jay above-mentioned. The rounded

crest gives the bird a very quaint appearance at first sight and I

am unacquainted with ai^ other passerine bird which has a

similar one, most crests rising rather from the front of the head :

it may perhaps be compared with that of the Tufted Duck on

a small scale.


The " urraca " in his wild state is rather a shy bird, though

at the same time in one way a bold one, the natives saying that

he can be caught in the simplest of traps and that he frequently

comes down after a "carneada" (killing of an animal by the

cattle-men for food out in the " camp ") to try and snatch a tit-

bit for himself. But down in the thick and shady "monte" or

woods by the riverside which he haunts — I have never seen him

elsewhere and even there he is a scarce bird — one seldom sees

him clearly but merely hears a ventriloquial "craw," and may

just detect a flash of blue and white passing through the dark

and creeper-hung trees. Of his nesting habits I can say little as

I have never actually found the nest, but believe it to be very

like that of our English Jay. I have remarked that the birds

are very fond of breaking twigs or sticks into short pieces which

they do with a dexterous twist of the head, aided perhaps by a

previous hammering with their powerful beaks. There are birds'

nests galore to be found in the " camp," and I was much struck

at first by the numerous large ones built of sticks, such as those

of the " lenatero" (wood-gatherer) and of the little Green Conure,

seemingly so exposed and accessible : but if one tries to get at

them one soon finds that it is not so easy as it looks : the small

hardwood trees are full of thorns and generally so bristly as to be

almost unclimbable, even if large enough for that, while the

nests themselves are for the most part built of thorny sticks

packed together with such strength that it is a difficult matter to

break or remove them.


Nor can I well describe the voice of the "urraca" ; he has



