146 BLACK-HEADED JAY. 



top of the head is entirely black. The cheeks in the 

 common species are the same colour as the back — red- 

 dish grey; in this they are white like the throat. The 

 Common Jay is considerably longer (qnite two inches) 

 than our species." 



The Black-headed Jay is an inhabitant of Syria, 

 where it replaces the common species, and M. Crolla 

 says it is never found there with a different plumage. 

 It is found also throughout the whole of Greece, the 

 Crimea, and the Caucasus. 



M. Temminck has examined specimens from each of 

 these countries, and found no difference except in the 

 size; those from Greece were twelve inches; that from 

 the Caucasus thirteen. 



M. Degland. in his "Ornith. Europ.," differs from 

 Temminck on this point. He says that the specimens 

 from Syria and Algeria differ sensibly from the Caucasian 

 species. They are not only smaller, but have the tuft 

 less; the cheeks, the throat, and a part of the front of 

 the neck white, and not reddish ash; the blue of the 

 wings is less extended, and of a brighter tint; the tail 

 has on all its quills transverse bars of bluish ash, (the 

 most lateral of each side excepted,) while there are only 

 a few bands on the median in the Caucasian species. 

 The beak in the latter is thicker, and approaches nearer 

 to that of the Common Jay. 



Degland doubted whether this bird was ever found 

 in Greece, as stated by Temminck, as M. Von der 

 Muhle never met with it there during a six-year's 

 residence. 



For these reasons Degland considered it most probable 

 that the Black-headed Jay of Asia Minor and Algeria 

 does not occur in Europe, and that the Caucasian race 

 is the only one that does. He therefore prefers the 



