Plate 28
The Prince Maximilian’s Jay
Gymnokitta cyanocephala (DeWied)
GYMNOKITTA CYANOCEPHALA.—(De Wied.)
The Prince Maximilian’s Jay.
PLATE XXVIII.—Adult Male.
We have the pleasure of presenting to the reader, in the plate now before him, one of the most singular of the birds of the family of Crows and Jays yet known to inhabit North America.
This bird was discovered in the Rocky Mountains, by that learned and enthusiastic naturalist, Maximilian, Prince of Wied, who in the course of travels in North America, and especially in the interior, contributed a large amount of valuable information relating to the natural history of the northern portion of our continent, as he had previously to that of South America. Few books, in fact, contain more important observations in the various departments of North American Zoology than the work of that nobleman, “Travels in the Interior of North America,—edition in German, Coblenz, 1839;” but, unfortunately, and certainly without his approbation, nearly everything relating to natural history is omitted in the English edition, London, 1843. In Ornithology, the works of the Prince Maximilian are particularly valuable, and in that relating to North America, there are many notices of little known and interesting species, and the first descriptions of some which have since been regarded as previously unknown by American writers.
The present bird differs in generic as well as specific characters from all other forms of the family to which it belongs. Its short, heavy figure approximates it somewhat to the Nut-crackers of the old world (Nucifraga), and to Clark’s Crow of Western America (Picicorvus columbianus), and its habits, so far as known, are in some respects similar to those of the latter. It does not appear, however, to be in any considerable degree a fruit-eater, but is decidedly carnivorous, and almost rapacious; preying on Reptiles, particularly the various species of Phrynosoma, or Horned Frogs, as they are called with but little propriety, which abound in Western North America. It appears, in fact, to resemble in habits, to some extent, the reptile-eating Kingfishers (Genus Todiramphus) of Asia, the Pacific islands and Australia, and if not absolutely allied, is certainly a strongly analogous representative of those curious birds.
The first specimens of this bird which were brought to the attention of American naturalists, were sent to the Philadelphia Academy, by Mr. Edward M. Kern, who procured them during his connection with Col. Frémont’s Expedition of 1846; and previously no others appear to have reached Europe, than those of its discoverer, the Prince Maximilian.
More recently it has been observed by several of the naturalists who have visited Western America. Our friend, T. Charlton Henry, M. D., of the United States’ Army, has noticed it repeatedly in the vicinity of Fort Webster, in New Mexico. To him we have the pleasure of expressing our obligations for the following interesting notes relating to this bird, as well as for many others:
“This singular and handsome Jay, I first met with near San Miguel, in July, 1852, where I observed a party of some twenty or thirty specimens flitting through the cedars along the roadside. They were mostly young birds, and constantly alighted on the ground, for the purpose, as I ascertained, of capturing lizards, which they killed with great readiness and devoured.
“Since that time, I have frequently observed this bird in the winter only, in the neighborhood of Fort Webster, and always in flocks of about forty or fifty; indeed I am not sure that I have not repeatedly fallen in with the same flock, and it may not therefore be as abundant as I am inclined to suppose. Here they evince an exceeding wariness and are very difficult to approach; I have chased a flock for hours without succeeding in getting within gun-shot.