#stellarjay #birdwatching #birding
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The Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is the western North-American counterpart of the Blue Jay, but the Steller's is easily distinguishable from the Blue Jay by its dark, gray-black head and upper back, and its deep indigo-blue wings and tail lacking the white spots of the Blue Jay. The Steller's Jay is a typical loud, aggressive, omnivorous member of the "corvid" family that includes crows and magpies. It eats pine seeds, nuts, berries, small vertebrates, insects, and the eggs and young of smaller birds. The Steller's Jay is a regular visitor at birdfeeders and campgrounds and is well-known for its variety of vocalizations, including a rapid "shek-shek-shek", a rasping "chee, chee", good imitations of the Northern Flicker and Red-tailed Hawk, and a quieter mating song consisting of a series of gurgling and popping sounds.
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Interesting Facts About Steller's Jay:
*An excellent mimic with a large repertoire, the Steller's Jay can imitate birds, squirrels, cats, dogs, chickens, and some mechanical objects.
*Steller's and Blue jays are the only North American jays with crests. The Blue Jay is expanding its range westward. Where they meet, the two species occasionally interbreed and produce hybrids.
*Steller's Jays have the dubious honor of being one of the most frequently misspelled names in all of bird watching. Up close, the bird's dazzling mix of azure and blue is certainly stellar, but that's not how you spell their name. Steller's Jays were discovered on an Alaskan island in 1741 by Georg Steller, a naturalist on a Russian explorer's ship. When a scientist officially described the species, in 1788, they named it after him -- along with other discoveries including the Steller's sea lion and Steller's Sea-Eagle.
*The Steller's Jay and the Blue Jay are the only New World jays that use mud to build their nests.
*The Steller's Jay shows a great deal of variation in appearance throughout its range, with some populations featuring black crests and backs, and others blue. One black-crested form in southern Mexico is surrounded by eight other blue-crested forms.
*Steller's Jays are habitual nest-robbers, like many other jay species. They've occasionally been seen attacking and killing small adult birds including a Pygmy Nuthatch and a Dark-eyed Junco.
*The oldest recorded Steller's Jay was 16 years 1 month old.
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