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Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
uses bird feeder
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songbird's song
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FIELD MARKS
The Steller's Jay has a black head and a deep blue -to purple -coloured
body, wings and tail. Its wings and tail have black barring. It has a crest
on its head which it erects when disturbed or excited. In some populations
of the province it has a white spot above its eye and under its chin. Approximate
length: 32 cm
FOOD
The Steller's Jay is omnivorous, feeding mostly on vegetation, but also
on animal matter. It eats nuts and seeds such as pine seeds and acorns,
berries, wild and cultivated fruit, insects, spiders, birds' eggs and even
small rodents.
HABITAT
These jays can be most often found in coniferous or mixed forests. They
can also be found in other places with trees such as orchards and gardens.
NESTING
The Steller's Jay nests in coniferous trees, especially Douglas-fir. Both
the female and the male build the nest out of twigs plastered with mud and
lined with rootlets, grass, pine needles and sometimes bits of paper. The
female lays 3-5 pale blue-green eggs that have faint brown or olive spots.
STATUS
Common throughout most of it's range except the Queen Charlotte Islands.
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