#cyanocitta stelleri

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

[fatchance]

Steller's jay / chara copetona (Cyanocitta stelleri) at Picture Canyon in Flagstaff, Arizona. I had dozens of jays keeping me company on my hike.

The white forehead feathers and partial eye ring are characteristic of Steller's in the interior west.

The Spanish common name is a puzzle. Copetón means a shy or timid person, but I don't think there is anything shy about a Steller's jay. Can any Spanish speakers provide a clue?

UPDATE (with big thanks to wordsmith and friend @readsal): The Steller's Spanish common name is derived from copete, meaning pompadour, tuft, or forelock and refers to its striking black crest feathers.

[birdblues]

Steller's Jay

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Steller's Jay

Photo: Mick Thompson

"A common bird of western forests. Steller's Jay is most numerous in dense coniferous woods of the mountains and the northwest coast, where its dark colors blend in well in the shadows. Except when nesting it lives in flocks, and the birds will often fly across a clearing one at a time, in single file, giving their low shook-shook calls as they swoop up to perch in a tall pine."

- Audubon Field Guide

[fullfrontalbirds]

Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

© Evan Lipton

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

photo source

[kindlethejay]

I’ve been trying to post these photos of Steller’s Jays I saw in Golden Gate Park back in April but Tumblr keeps failing to upload them.

Anyways I cried and made my friends wait an hour while I took these cause I hadn’t gotten any good pics of a STJA in over six years because they kept eluding me and my camera despite me living in an area where they’re prevalent.

[doingitfortheexposure]

Steller's jay, about to abscond with a peanut.

Photo by Xer S. Rowan, Creative Commons Attribution license

my linktree

[kiwi-tmntfan]

guys why do I always have the urge to just go "did you know there are only two species in the genus cyanocitta" even to people I've already told it all to

[proton-wobbler]

Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

"the crest is fun and they're cute" "They are my favourite birds. Pretty and clever. I don't know if they're going to make it though."

The Western equivalent of the Blue Jay, Steller's Jay is the only crested jay species on the West coast. They interbreed with Blue Jay sometimes in the patch of Rocky Mountains where the two overlap, mainly Colorado. Because of this some people debate if they are even separate species. Regardless, Steller's Jay ranges from Alaska to Nicaragua, having 18 subspecies in total. Some show just a hint of blue in the black section of their crest, while others have white "eyebrows". The Central American morph even lacks a crest.

"The Steller's jay is also a noted mimic: it can imitate the vocalizations of many species of birds, other animals, and sounds of non-animal origin. It often will imitate the calls from birds of prey such as the red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, and osprey as a warning of danger to others or territorial behavior, causing other birds to seek cover and flee feeding areas."

Sources:

Image Sources: eBird (left - Jeff Maw; right - Bradley Hacker)

[crudlynaturephotos]

[aquilathefighter]

Congrats congrats! Do you have any facts about: stellar's jays, varied thrushes, or barred owls? (All of which live in my parents' backyard!)

Thank you thank you!!

I am soooo jealous as someone east of the Rockies, Steller's jay and varied thrush are two of my dream birds when I finally get out that way!

Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) are omnivores, with about a third of their diet being animal matter. They'll eat invertebrates, small rodents, eggs, and sometimes even other birds' nestlings. They're very adaptable to whatever they can find! The other two-thirds of their diet is plant matter like confer seeds and acorns. If there are humans around they'll definitely exploit those food sources. A favorite treat of pretty much any corvid is peanuts :)

(via)

Barred owls (Strix varia) are soooo much fun! The pneumonic we use to remember their calls is "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" They're named after the beautiful dark brown pattern all over their bodies!

(via)

Varied thrushes (Ixoreus naevius) are a stunning relative of the American robin (Turdus migratorius). They are the only species in the genus Ixoreus which means they are pretty unique among their family members! There's a rare variant of this species where all of the orange parts are replaced with white, which I would love to see.

(via)

[atamagaitai]

steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) by Pam LaForest

[birdblues]

Steller’s Jay

[csloveu21]

My life stolen just like that

[ribzinc]

Cliff swallows, grey wolf, rocky mountain goats, blue winged teal, steller's jay, osprey, Barrow's goldeneye