GARRULUS HYRCANUS. 



(PERSIAN JAY.) 



Garrulus hyrcanus, Blanford, Ibis, 1873, p. 225. 



Soika, Russian ; Kagno-Agraw, Armenian ; Balut-Khor, Persian. 



FigurcB notabiles. 

 Blanford, E. Persia, ii. pi. xviii.; Eadde, Orn. Cauc. Taf. iv. figs. 2, 3. 



Ad. G. glandario affinis, sed minor : tarso breviore : pilei pluniis nigris, anguste rufescenti-vinaceo vel rufo- 

 schistaceo marginatis, haud albidis : gula isabellina in colorem saturatiorem pectoris gradatim 

 transeunte : remige secundario penultimo et plerumque ante penultimo macula ferruginea magna ad 

 pogonium externum signatis. 



Adult. General colour above rufescent vinaceous, tbe feathers on the crown black, margined with rufescent 

 vinaceous or rufescent grey ; nasal bristles isabelline, tipped with black; wings and tail as in Garrulus 

 glandarius ; cheeks more rufous than in that species ; throat pale rufescent vinaceous ; rest of under- 

 pays deep vinous red, rather darker on the flanks, the lower abdomen, vent, under tail-coverts, and 

 thighs white: beak, legs, and iris as in G. glandarius. Total length about ll'O inches, culmen 1"25, 

 wing 6'5, tail 5"2, tarsus l - 6. 



The Persian Jay, as its name implies, inhabits Persia, ranging into the Talysch lowlands in the 

 Caucasus. Dr. Eadde (Orn. Cauc. p. 134) considers all the forms allied to Garrulus glandarius, 

 the present one amongst them, to be merely varieties of that species, and it is therefore some- 

 what difficult to separate his remarks so as to show which relate solely to the present form ; 

 but it would appear that he only obtained G. hyrcanus from Lenkoran, and in the winter season. 

 Mr. Blanford (E. Pers. ii. p. 26G) says that he found this Jay common in the hill-forests north 

 of the Elburz, where specimens were obtained by himself and also by Sir O. St. John, who adds 

 that his collector obtained it in the forest of Mazandaran in winter, and he himself saw it in the 

 oak-forests of the same province at an altitude of 5000 to 6000 feet, and in the neighbouring 

 province of Ghilan in the lower hills, but did not observe it in the low forests between the 

 mountains and the sea. 



In habits and nidification the present species is stated to agree very closely with our 

 Common Jay. I have received a clutch of eggs, stated to belong to this species, which closely 

 resemble those of Garrulus brandti. 



The bird figured and described is one of the typical specimens, for which I am indebted 

 to Mr. W. T. Blanford, and is in my own collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



2m 



