42-2 
FLORIDA JAY. 
long,' extending beyond the wings three and a half ; the spu- 
rious feather is extremely short; the first primary, (often mis- 
taken for the second,) is as short as the secondaries; the five 
succeeding are subequal, the third and fourth being rather the 
longest. The tail is somewhat wedge-shaped, the outer fea- 
ther being half an inch shorter than the next, and one inch and 
a half shorter than the middle one. The tarsus is an inch and 
a quarter long, and black, as well as the toes and nails. 
The female is perfectly similar to the male, being but a 
trifle less in size, and quite as brilliant in plumage. 
Two years since it fell to our lot to describe, and apply the 
name of ultramarine jay, [Garrulus ultra-marinus^) to a species 
found in Mexico, closely resembling this, and to which Mr 
Swainson, in his Synopsis of Mexican Birds^ has lately given 
the name of Garrulus sordidus, his specimen being probably a 
young one. The principal distinctive characters may be found 
in its larger dimensions, but especially in the shape of its tail, 
which is perfectly even, and not in the least cuneiform, as it 
generally is in the jays. The back, though it is also somewhat 
intermixed with dusky, is much more blue than in our species, 
and indeed the whole azure colour is somewhat more brilliant 
and silky ; the bluish collar is wanting, and the under wing, 
but especially the under tail-coverts, are much less tinged with 
blue. The wings, moreover, are proportionally larger. 
