JAYS 
303 
Unfortunately, the treeless prairie is not an aboriginal home of the 
species and it is not as common as we should like west of Manitoba, nor 
has it there taken as kindly to nesting boxes as it has in the east. Wherever 
Martins occur they show the same appreciation of the hollow galvanized 
cornices of business buildings and without doubt a little coaxing would 
introduce them to the advantages of well-made bird-houses. Once estab- 
lished in such houses, the species would probably increase. It might take 
some time to accomplish this as the Purple Martin is greatly attached to 
its home locality, and, until forced to, does not usually seek new quarters. 
Economic Status. The Martin like the other swallows is a bird with 
no bad habits, and with so many good ones that every effort should be 
made to aid its increase. 
FAMILY CORVIDAE. JAYS AND CROWS 
The crow family is very large and diverse, including many beautiful 
and highly coloured birds; indeed the famous Birds of Paradise are closely 
related to this family. The bill (Figure 402) is the most easily distinguished 
character. It is moderately long and stout with a well-arched culmen. 
At the base are tufts of dense, stiff, bristle-like feathers pressed close to it 
and covering the nostrils. The woodpeckers and the titmice have a sug- 
gestion of these nostril tufts, but the latter are all very small birds and the 
former have a straight culmen and the bill chisel shaped at the tip (See 
Figure 391a, page 277). They are not songsters in the ordinary sense of 
the term; their voices are hoarse and raucous, but the complexity of their 
vocal organs is very great and some of them can be taught to articulate 
words. They are amongst our most intelligent species and by some authors 
have been put at the head of the whole avian list. 
Subfamily— Garrulinae. Magpies and Jays 
Medium-sized birds, many of them brilliantly coloured and with 
ornamental crests and flowing tails. They can be most easily recognized 
under their specific headings. 
484. Canada Jay. whiskey jack, moose-bird. camp-robber, meat-bird, i.e 
geai du Canada. Perisoreus canadensis, L, 13. Plate XLVIII A. About the size of a 
robin; soft, plumbeous ash; head, throat, and breast white, with dark cap over rear 
crown and nape. 
Distinctions. Size of robin. Body a soft neutral grey colour, without pattern, and 
a very loose, fluffy plumage. A dark cap and white forehead, face, and throat. The 
juvenile has an evenly dark, almost black, head and neck. 
Field Marks. Size: in adult, uniform grey coloration, and white forehead and face, 
with dark cap or nape. Juveniles have an almost black head and face, gradually greying 
above and below towards tail. 
Nesting. A deep nest of twigs and fibres, thickly lined with fur or feathers, in dense 
coniferous trees. Eggs deposited very early. In northern Manitoba, ty$gs have been 
recorded in January, with official thermometer registering 50 degrees below zero. 
Distribution. The northern coniferous forest of North America. In Canada, across 
the continent, coming south along the mountains. 
SUBSPECIES. The race that inhabits the greater part of Canada is the Eastern 
Canada Jay (le Geai de l’Est du Canada) Perisoreus canadensis canadensis. In the mount- 
ains, south from central British Columbia, except near the coast, is the Rocky Mountain 
Jay (le Geai des Rocheuses) Perisoreus canadensis capitalis, characterized by slightly lighter 
general coloration and the extension of the white forehead on the crown, reducing the dark 
cap to little more than a nape bar. On Vancouver Island and t he adjoining coast is the 
Grey Streaked Jay (le Geai stric gris) given in the Check-list as Perisoreus obscurus griseus, 
and accredited full specific distinction, but, as intergrades can be demonstrated, in the 
opinion of the writer, worthy of only subspecific status. It is characterized by slightly 
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