Zoological Illustrations Series II/Plate 86



The Jays, although allied to the Crows, have many peculiar characteristics. While the latter roam about and seek their food in all situations, the Jays confine themselves to thick woods, feeding upon fruits, insects, and eggs, and seldom perch upon the ground. In unison with that symbolical system which pervades all nature, we find a perfect representation of this group in the Bush-Shrikes of the new world.

America seems to possess three Jays, closely resembling each other, but each (if they have been described correctly) having some peculiar distinction. As these have not been clearly stated, and as some confusion has consequently crept into the subject, we shall shortly state their distinctions. The Florida Jay of Prince C. Bonaparte, (G. Floridamus) which has been thought the same as ours, is a much smaller bird, being only 11½ in. long, and the back is "yellowish brown," not dusky blue, (See Bon. Am. Orn. 2. p. 61.) The Garrulus ultramarinus of the same noble and learned writer, appears to us from the following account, to be distinct from either. "Its principal 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 all the Jays," (Am. Orn. 2. 62.) Now the tail of our species is decidedly rounded, the outer feather being full one inch shorter than the middle.

The Garrulus sordidus inhabits the table land of Mexico, from whence our specimen was received. Total length, 11 in.: bill, 1½: wings, 7: tarsi, 1$7/10$: tail, 6½ in.