BIRDS OF THE NORTHERN STATES 309 
477. Blue Jay. Length 113 inches. 
A large, beautiful bird; but notorious as a robber of birds’ nests. 
Upper parts grayish blue ; under parts dull 
white ; wings and tail have bars and spots 
of black and white. Wears a collar, which, 
however, is too high up on the back of 
the head and rather toolowinfront. Has 
a conspicuous crest and a very long tail. 
Call, a loud, screaming jay, jay, jav. 
Nests in bushes and low trees. Very 
rare west of central Dakota. S.R. and 
occasionally P. R. 
488 AmericanCrow. Length 19 inches. 
A common, large, black bird, usually 
found in flocks. Noted for its intelligence 
and notorious for its bad conduct. May 
be recognized by its call notes of caw, caw. 
Nest is bulky, placed high up in trees. 
spring and remain till very late in the fall. 
484 Canad 
491 Clark 
Wes 
BiueE JAY 
Crows arrive very early in the 
Common S.R. 
486 American Raven. Rare S.R. 
a Jay. Rare P.R. 
486a Northern Raven. Rare P.R. 
Nutcracker. Occasional in 
tern Dakota. 
Blackbird Family. — Black is the char- 
AMERICAN CROW 
acteristic color of all these birds except the 
Meadowlarks. Bobolinks have consider- 
able white on the upper parts, the Cowbirds 
have a coffee brown head, the Yellow- 
headed and the Red-winged Blackbirds are 
well described by their names, the plumage 
of Meadowlarks is gray and brown, Orioles 
add orange or chestnut to their black, 
and the rest are black all over. The 
female often lacks the brighter colors and shining black of the male, and 
in several species she is much smaller. Most of them are of medium 
size, but, with the exception of some species in the Crow family, the 
