X20 THE FLORIDA JAY. 



sides sloping. Nostrils basal, open, covered by the reversed bristly feathers. 

 Head rather large, neck short, body robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus 

 about the same length as the middle toe, anteriorly scutellate, compressed, 

 acute behind; toes free, scutellate, the inner shorter than the outer; claws 

 arched, compressed, acute. 



Plumage soft, blended, glossy. A tuft of reflected bristly feathers over 

 the nostril on each side, and several bristle-pointed feathers at the base of the 

 upper mandible. Wings short, third and fourth quills longest, first short. 

 Tail long, much rounded, of twelve rounded feathers. 



Bill and feet brownish-black. Iris hazel. Upper part of the head, the 

 cheeks, side, and back part of the neck, the wings and tail, of a bright 

 purplish-azure. Back light yellowish-brown. A band of white on the fore- 

 head, extending over the eyes. The under parts brownish-white. The 

 upper tail-coverts are blue, and the tail-feathers are indistinctly barred with 

 deeper lines. 



Length 11? inches; bill along the ridge \%, along the gap nearly li; tarsus 

 1 T 2 2, middle toe nearly the same. 



Adult Female. 



The female presents the same colours as the male, the difference in tint 

 being hardly perceptible. 



The Persimon Tree. 



Diospyros virginiana, Willd., Sp. PL, vol. iv. p. 1107. Pursh, Flor. Amer., vol. i. p. 

 265. Mich., Abr. Forest. del'Amer. Sept., vol. ii. p. 195, pi. 12.— Polygamia Dkecia, 

 Linn.— Guaiacanje, Juss. 



Leaves ovato-oblong, acuminate, smooth, venous; petioles downy; buds 

 smooth. The flowers are pale yellow, and the fruits, which are of the size 

 of a plum, are of a globular form, and when mature, of a dull yellowish 

 colour. The bark of old trees is cracked, and of a dark colour. The wood 

 is employed for various purposes, being fine-grained, hard and durable. 



