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Steller's Jay Bird

Steller's Jay (Genus, species: Cyanocitta stelleri)

The Steller's Jay is a very pretty bird that doesn't seem to be particularly sh...
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Steller's Jay (Genus, species: Cyanocitta stelleri)

The Steller's Jay is a very pretty bird that doesn't seem to be particularly shy of people. Although it is lovely to look at, it has very harsh, noisy vocalizations.

It is the provincial bird of British Columbia, Canada. Steller's Jays are frequently seen in the Rockie Mountains.
The Steller's Jay is a member of the Jays and Crows family. Just as the Blue Jay is common on the East Coast of North America, the Steller's Jay is common on the West Coast, from Alaska and the Yukon in the north to Arizona and New Mexico in the south.

Description - male: Charcoal colored head and nape with a large black crest on top of the head. Most have white streaks on the forehead and chin though there are some subspecies that do not. The body, wings and tail are a deep blue. The bill and legs are black. The birds are about 11 inches long.

Description - female: same as male, though slightly smaller.

Description - young: Nestlings are born featherless. Three weeks after hatching, they have the same coloring as the parents.

The Steller's Jay feeds on insects, other birds' eggs and nestlings, nuts, seeds, acorns and berries. They are also frequent visitors of campground picnic tables and bird feeders. The Steller's Jay hoards food like acorns, seeds and nuts in caches around it's territory for occasions when it can't find fresh food.

The Steller's Jay can be found in campgrounds, picnic areas and towns making it a fairly easy bird for an amateur bird watcher to spot. It also spends time in coniferous and mixed forests.

Nesting: They mainly nest in conifer trees, using the needles of the tree to line their nest. The nest is built of sticks, twigs and mud. However, they have adapted to urban life by occasionally nesting under the roof of a building.

The female typically lays a clutch of 3 to 4 eggs (though it can be anywhere from 2 to 6 eggs) which she incubates for about 16 days. The eggs are bluish-green with dark brown markings. The male feeds the female while she's incubating the eggs.

Migration: The Steller's Jay lives in its territory year round. They often live in mountainous areas and will move up the mountain in the summer and back down the mountain into the valley areas in the winter.


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5 Comments | Report
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots December 02, 2017
Great shot!
agnesspel Platinum
 
agnesspel December 05, 2017
Beautiful bird has the same Body shape as the Red Whiskered Bulbus only different colours
Cookies4U
 
Cookies4U January 02, 2018
Wonderful shot!
1Ernesto
1Ernesto January 03, 2018
Thanks! He is not a usual visitor to my yard and I was very excited to catch him before he moved on.
kensilagy PRO+
 
kensilagy January 03, 2018
Lover the Stellar Jay. Nice capture.
bkelly7k Platinum
 
bkelly7k January 16, 2018
Good detail, the light background helps the color stand out!
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