230 



North A:\iericax Birds Eggs. 



lireeni^h buff..' 



resident and breed- 



477, Blue Jay. Cydiincitta crlftdta. 



Range.— North America, east of tlie Plains and north to Hudson Bay: resident 

 and very abundant in its United States range. 



Tliese beautiful and hold marauders are too well 

 known to need description, suttice it to sa^- that they 

 are the most beautiful of North American Jays: but be- 

 neath their handsome plumage beats a heart as cruel 

 and running as that in any bird of pre.v. In the fall, 

 winter and spring, their food consists largely of acorns, 

 chestnuts, berries, seeds, grain, insects, lizards, etc., 

 Iiut during the summer months they destroy and devour 

 a great many eggs and young of the smaller birds, their 

 taste for which, being so great that they are known to 

 watch a nest until the full ciimplement of eggs is laid before making their theft. 

 They nest in iipen woods or clumps of trees, indifferently, in pines or young 

 trees, building most often below twenty feet from the ground: the nests aremade 

 of twigs and rootlets, lined with finer rootlets. During May they lay from four 

 to six eggs of a greenish or brownish buff color spotted with olive brown. Size 

 1.10 \- .80. Data,— Chester Ci>unty. Fa.. May l'3. 1880. Nest in an oak sapling, 

 tifteen feet above gmund: made of sticks, rootlets and irrass. Collector, Samuel 

 B. Ladd. 



477a, Florida Blue Jay. Cyaaoritta crisiaia ihirincula. 

 Range. — Florida and the Gulf coast. 



The nesting habits and eggs of this smaller subspecies are the same as those 

 of the northern Blue Jay. Like our birds, they frequently nest near habitations. 



478. Steller Jay. Cijaiifirilfrt stcUeri. 

 Range. — Pacific coast from southern California to Alaska; 



ing throughout its range. 



All the members of this sub-genus are similar in 

 plumage, having a sooty black head, crest and neck, 

 shading insensibly into dark Iduish on the back and 

 underparts, and brighter blue on the wings and tail. 

 They usually have a few streaks or spots of pale blue on 

 the forehead. They are just as noisy. l:)old and thievish 

 as the eastern Jay and are also excellent mimics like the 

 latter. They nest in tir trees at any height from the 

 ground and in April or May deposit their three to six 

 greenish l)lue eggs which are spotted with various shades 

 of brown. Size 1.25 x ,90. Their nests are more bulky 

 than those of the eastern Jay and are usually made of 

 larger sticks and held together with some mud. 

 478a. Blue-fronted Jay. Cjianoriita f:trllcri liiiiitalis. 



Range,— Coast ranges of California and Oregon. 



The nesting habits and eggs of this variety are indistinguishable from those 

 of the preceding. The bird has more blue on the forehead, 

 478b. Long-crested Jay. Cijanoritta stelkri diademata. 



Range. — Southern Rocky Mountains from Arizona to Wyoming. 



No general difference can be found between the eggs of this species and the 

 Steller Jay, and the nests of each are constructed similarly and in like situations. 

 478c. Black-headed Jay. Cyaiuicitta stcUrri anna:tcns. 



Range.— Northern Rocky Mountains from northern Colorado to British 

 Columbia. 



The eggs of this subspecies cannot be identified from those of the other varie- 

 ties. Like the others, their nests are made of sticks plastered together with 

 mud and lined with weeds and rootlets. 

 478d. Queen Charlotte Jay. Cyanorifta siclkri carlotta'. 



Range.— CJueen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. 



[<Treenish hliie.] 



