e, and in
North America to the highlands of Mexico.

_The Distribution of the Species of Jays._--Owing to the very wide range of
several of the tits, the uncertainty of the specific distinction of others,
and the difficulty in many cases of ascertaining their actual distribution,
it has not been found practicable to illustrate this genus by means of a
map. For this purpose we have chosen the genus Garrulus or the jays, in
which the species are less numerous, the specific areas less extensive, and
the species generally better defined; while being large and handsome {21}
birds they are sure to have been collected, or at least noticed, wherever
they occur. There are, so far as yet known, twelve species of true jays,
occupying an area extending from Western Europe to Eastern Asia and Japan,
and nowhere passing the Arctic circle to the north, or the tropic of Cancer
to the south, so that they constitute one of the most typical of the
Palaearctic[6] genera. The following are the species, beginning with the
most westerly and proceeding towards the east. The numbers prefixed to each
species correspond to those on the coloured map which forms the
frontispiece to this volume.

1. _Garrulus glandarius._--The common jay, inhabits the British Isles and
all Europe except the extreme north, extending also into North Africa,
where it has been observed in many parts of Algeria. It occurs near
Constantinople, but apparently not in Asia Minor; and in Russia, up to, but
not beyond, the Urals. The jays being woodland birds are not found in open
plains or barren uplands, and their distribution is hence by no means
uniform within the area they actually occupy.

2. _Garrulus cervicalis._--The Algerian jay, is a very distinct species
inhabiting a limited area in North Africa, and found in some places along
with the common species.

3. _Garrulus krynicki._--The black-headed jay, is closely allied to the
common species, but quite distinct, inhabiting a comparatively small area
in South-eastern Europe, and Western Asia.

4. _Garrulus atricapillus._--The Syrian jay, is very closely allied to the
last, and inhabits an adjoining area in Syria, Palestine, and Southern
Persia.

5. _Garrulus hyrcanus._--The Persian jay, is a small species allied to our
jay and only known from the Elburz Mountains in the north of Persia.

6. _Garrulus brandti._--Brandt's jay, is a very distinct species, having an
extensive range across Asia from the Ural Mountains