118 

 THE FLORIDA JAY. 



~f Garrulus florid anus, Bartram. 

 PLATE CCXXXIII.— Male and Female. 



This beautiful and lively bird is a constant resident in the south-western 

 parts of Florida, from which country it seldom if ever removes to any great 

 distance. It is never seen in the State of Louisiana, far less in that of Ken- 

 tucky, and when Charles Bonaparte asserts that it occurs in these dis- 

 tricts, we must believe that he has been misinformed. It is so confined to 

 the particular portions of Florida which it inhabits, that even on the eastern 

 shores of that peninsula few are to be seen. I have never observed it in any 

 part of Georgia, or farther to the eastward. 



The flight of the Florida Jay is generally performed at a short distance 

 from the ground, and consists either of a single sailing sweep, as it shifts 

 from one tree or bush to another, or of continuous flappings, with a slightly 

 undulated motion, in the manner of the Magpie (Pica melanoleuca) or of 

 the Canada Jay (Garrulus canadensis). Its notes are softer than those 

 of its relative the Blue Jay (Garrulus cristatus), and are more fre- 

 quently uttered. Its motions are also more abrupt and quicker. It is seen 

 passing from one tree to another with expanded tail, stopping for a moment 

 to peep at the intruder, and hopping off to another place the next minute. 

 It frequently descends to the ground, along the edges of oozy or marshy 

 places, to search for snails, of which, together with berries of various kinds, 

 fruits and insects, its food consists. It is easily approached during the breed- 

 ing season, but is more shy at other times. It is a great destroyer of the 

 eggs of small birds, as well as of young birds, which it chases and kills by 

 repeated blows of its bill on their heads, after which it tears their flesh with 

 avidity. 



The Florida Jay is easily kept in a cage, where it will feed on recent or 

 dried fruits, such as figs, raisins, and the kernels of various nuts, and exhibits 

 as much gaiety as the Blue Jay does in a similar state. Like the latter, it 

 secures its food between its feet, and breaks it into pieces before swallowing 

 it, particularly the acorns of the live oak, and the snails which it picks up 

 among the sword palmetto. No sooner have the seeds of that plant become 

 black, or fully ripe, than the Florida Jay makes them almost its sole food for 

 a time, and wherever a patch of these troublesome plants are to be seen, there 



