484. COLUMBIA JAY.
time retain the usual generic name for the present splendid species, which
has the bill of nearly the same form as the true Crows, combined with the
elongated tail, and lively colouring of the Jays.
Were I to relate to you, good reader, the various accounts which I
have heard respecting this splendid bird, I should have enough to say ;
but as I have resolved to confine myself entirely to the results of my own
observation, I must for the present remain silent on the subject.
The specimen from which the drawings were taken was presented to
me by a friend who had received it from the Columbia River, and is the
only individual represented in the volume which I did not myself procure
on the spot. However, as I expect to ramble again through our
vast forests and extensive territories, I may yet be enabled to give you a
full account of this beautiful bird, which, from the splendour of its plumage,
deserves all the attention of the naturalist. In the mean time I
adjoin a notice respecting it, with which I have lately been favoured by
my friend, the Prince of Musignano. " Le superbe geai, dont vous me
parlez, est sans doute l'oiseau que WAGLEK a fait connaître le premier,
sous le nom de Pica BullocJcii, et que TEMMINCK a figuré dans ses planches
coloriées, sous cellui de Garrula Gubernatrioe. Son nom legitime, suivant
mes principes, sera Garrulus Bullockii, mais vous avez raison de dire
qu'il ne se trouve pas dans mon Synopsis : ce n'est que par votre lettre que
j'ai appris qu'il se trouvait dans le territoire des Etats-unis. Jusqu'a présent
on ne l'avait trouve qu'au Mexique et à la Californie. Il n'est pas
étonnant qu'il se retrouve sur la rivière Columbia. Mais comment l'avezvous
obtena et avez-vous pu le dessiner vivant? Trois autres espèces
de geais, qui ne sont pas dans mon Synopsis, habitent l'extrémité nord de
l'Amérique, et il est probable, qu' outre votre superbe geai commandeur,
plusieurs autres des espèces Mexicaines se retrouvent dans sa partie occidentale."
Convus BULLOCKII, Wagïer.
Bill of ordinary length, straight, robust, compressed ; upper mandible
with the dorsal outline straightish at the base, declinate and convex
towards the tip, which is deflected, the sides convex, the edges rather
sharp ; lower mandible with the dorsal outline slightly concave towards
the base, convex and ascending towards the tip. Nostrils basal, oval,
partly concealed by short bristly feathers. Proportions of parts ordinary.
Feet of ordinary length, rather strong; tarsus compressed, about the
length of the middle toe, anteriorly scutellate, covered behind with two
longitudinal plates, meeting at an acute angle; toes free, scutellate above ;
claws of ordinary size, arched, convex above, canaliculate beneath.
Plumage compact, glossy. Feathers of the head elongated into a
crest, the posterior ones recúrvate. Wings longish, the third and fourth
quills longest, the first short. Tail very long, graduated, of twelve feathers,
of which the two central are slightly curved, and greatly exceed
the rest in length.
Bill and feet brownish-black. Iris hazel. The general colour of
the plumage is bright blue, with purple reflections. The fore neck and
anterior part of the breast black; the rest of the under parts white.
The inner webs of the quills dusky, the four outer feathers of the tail
white towards the tip.
Length 31 inches, extent of wings 26; bill along the ridge 1¿, tarsus
2, middle toe %