STELLER'S FAY, 307 
two or three species inhabiting the countries near the Rocky 
Mountains, one of which is probably that here described, and 
others may prove to be some of the newly discovered Mexican 
species, one of which, the Garrula gubernatric of Temminck, 
is so proudly beautiful. 
The Steller’s jay is more than twelve inches long. The bill 
measures one inch and a half, is entire, and totally black ; the 
bristly feathers over the nostrils are also wholly black. The 
feathers of the head are greatly elongated, forming a large 
crest, more than two and a half inches long, and, with the 
whole head and neck, entirely deep brownish black, greyish 
on the throat ; the feathers on each side of the front are slightly 
tipped with bright and light azure, thus forming a dozen or 
more of small dots on that part; on the neck, the brown be- 
comes lighter, and extends down on the back, occupying the 
scapulars as well as the inner wing-coverts ; on the middle of 
the back the brown becomes somewhat tinged with bluish, 
and blends gradually into a fine bright blue colour, covering 
the rump and the upper tail-coverts; all the inferior parts 
from the neck, at the lower part of which the dusky colour 
passes into blue, are blue, somewhat tinged with grey, which 
is the general colour of the base of the plumage. The wings 
are nearly six inches in length; the fourth, fifth, and sixth 
primaries being subequal and longest. All the outer wing- 
coverts and the secondaries are blue, faintly crossed with 
obsolete blackish lines; the under wing-coverts are dusky ; 
the primaries are dark dusky, and, with the exception of the 
outer ones, at tip are edged or tinged with blue ; on the inner 
vane, the secondaries are blackish, but on the outer, they are 
deep glossy blue. The tail is five inches and a half long, and 
but slightly rounded ; it is of a deep glossy azure blue, more 
briliant on the outer vanes of the feathers, the inner being 
slightly tinged with dusky ; an indication of obliterated trans- 
verse blackish lines may be perceived in certain lights on 
almost all the tail-feathers in our specimen, and we have no 
doubt that on others they are more marked; the shafts both 
