After successfully negotiating the Dalles (see Plate 58) on September 12, 1834, Nathaniel Wyeth (1802-1856), Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), John Kirk Townsend (1809-1851), and their fellow explorers continued down the Columbia River trying to complete their quest to reach the Pacific Ocean. During their exploration of the northwestern United States, Nuttall and Townsend added dozens of species to Birds of America. Among those identified along the Columbia River was the bird John James Audubon named in Birds of America the Columbia Jay (Corvus bullockii). “The general colour of the plumage is bright blue, with purple reflections.”
When Audubon corresponded with Charles Bonaparte (1803-1857) about the identification of the Columbia Jay, Bonaparte concluded that the bird should be identified as Garrula Gubermatrix as originally documented for science by Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1820–1839). Although Bonaparte added that until Nuttall and Townsend made their finding, the bird was known to occur only in Mexico and California: “Jusqu’a present on ne l’avait trouve qu’au Mexique et a la Californie. Il n’est pas etonnant qu’il se retrouve sur la riviere Columbia.” What Nuttall, Townsend, Audubon, and Bonaparte identified as the Columbia Jay is now known as the White-throated magpie-jay (Colocitta formosa). Indeed, since birdwatchers have been keeping lists on Cornell’s eBird system, there has been only one report of a White-throated magpie-jay anywhere north of Mexico. Dan Jessen identified the bird on Main Street in Verrado, Arizona, on June 26, 2021 (see eBird Checklist S90824924).