COEVUS.— GTANOCITTA. 489 



tide, near the mouths of the esteros or creeks, searching for the small crahs, snails, and 

 other shell-fish which abound in such localities. 



In the autumn and winter months they congregate in large flocks, visiting the fields 

 of Indian corn first ripened, in which they do considerable damage ; but, unlike the 

 American Crow, it is not persecuted to death for this bit of roguery. The natives 

 seldom molest them. They sometimes visit the sand-bars of the rivers in large flocks 

 for the purpose of bathing. The voice of this Crow is somewhat like that of the 

 common species, but less harsh — indeed some of its notes are quite musical. 



Subfam. GARRULINjE. 

 Alae breves, rotundatae ; cauda plus minusve elongata. 



A. Nares plus minusve plumis setosis obtectce. 

 a. Plumce nasales distinctoe a plumis frontis bene distinguendw. 



CYANOCITTA. 



Cyanocitta, Strickland, Ann. & Mag. N. H. xv. p. 261 (1845) ; Sharpe, Cat, B. Brit. Mus. iii. p. 106. 



We now confine this generic name to the crested Jays of the northern continent, 

 whereof C. cristata is the typical species. The distinctive characters of the members 

 of this genus are not very pronounced, at least so far as regards C. stelleri and its allied 

 forms — so much so that the authors of the ' History of North-American Birds ' admit 

 only two birds to rank as species, namely C. cristata and C. stelleri. It is with the 

 latter alone we now have to deal. We recognize without much difficulty three forms 

 of C, stelleri in Mexico, namely C. macrolopha, a northern species found at least as 

 far south as the Mexican State of Durango, C. diademata of the central highlands, and 

 C. coronata of the southern highlands, the last-named species spreading southwards 

 through the highlands of Guatemala to Honduras. The range of the two latter in 

 Mexico has not yet been satisfactorily determined. 



Cyanocitta can be distinguished from Aphelocoma by its elongated crest, and by the 

 wings being distinctly barred with black ; these two genera have a common arrange- 

 ment of the supranasal and frontal feathers. 



1. Cyanocitta macrolopha. 



Cyanocitta macrolopha, Baird, Pr. Ac, Phil. 1854, p, 118'; Sharpe, Cat, B. Brit. Mus, iii. p, 110'. 

 Cyanura stelleri, var. macrolopha, Cones, B, N. W. p. 314; Baird, Brew., & Eidgw. N. Am. B. ii. 

 p, 381 '. 



Capite toto undique cum gutture et crista elongata nigris ; gula cinerascente ; fronte longitudinaliter sparsim 

 albo striata ; macula supra et iniira oculos alba ; dorso medio fuUginoso, imo caeruleo ; alis nigris, extrorsum 

 Cffimleis, secundariis laete cyaneis, internis nigro sfcriatis, tectricibus majoribus quoque nigro maculatis, 



BIOL. CENTE,-AMEK., Aves, Vol. I., April 1887. 62 



