You, Sir, Are Silly-Looking!

This morning, as I was not working but instead gazing dully out the window (as I am wont to do), I suddenly spotted this silly guy sitting on a tree branch right outside!

Sadly, these are not my own photos, as I did not reach my camera in time, but he pretty much looked just like these guys. He had a black "crown" on the top of his head, a stocky, electric-blue body with sturdy legs and a thick beak, and he was holding a NUT in his mouth!!

At first I assumed he was a blue jay, but after studying photos online, I quickly realized that what I had actually seen was a different type of jay, a Steller's Jay.

From wikipedia.org: The Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the Blue Jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the Long-crested Jay, the Mountain Jay, and the Pine Jay. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains.

The Steller's Jay shows a great deal of regional variation throughout its range. Blackish-brown-headed birds from the north gradually become bluer-headed farther south. The Steller's Jay has a more slender bill and longer legs than the Blue Jay and has a much more pronounced crest. The head is blackish-brown with light blue streaks on the forehead. This dark colouring gives way from the shoulders and lower breast to silvery blue. The primaries and tail are a rich blue with darker barring.

It occurs over virtually the whole of the western side of North America from Alaska in the north to Central America in the far south and east to south-western Texas, completely replacing the Blue Jay in most of those areas. The Steller's Jay lives in coniferous and mixed woodland, but not in completely dense forest, and requires open space. It typically lives in flocks of greater than 10 individuals.

As they are omnivores, their diet is about two-thirds plant matter and one third animal matter. Food is gathered from both the ground and from trees. The Steller's Jay's diet consists of a wide range of seeds, nuts, berries and other fruit. Many types of invertebrates, eggs, small rodents, and nestlings are also eaten. There are some accounts of them eating small reptiles, both snakes and lizards. Acorns and conifer seeds are staples during the non-breeding season; these are often cached in the ground or in trees for later consumption. They exploit human-provided food sources, frequently scavenging picnics and camp sites.

Like all jays, its calls are numerous and variable. Notably, its alarm call is a harsh nasal "wah". It also imitates the cry of the Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk, which has the effect of causing other birds to vacate feeding areas at the Steller's Jay's approach. Some calls are sex-specific; females produce a rattling sound while males make a high-pitched "gleep".

This bird is named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller who discovered them in 1741 (Evans 1986).