Steller’s Jay

The Steller’s Jay is British Columbia’s provincial bird. It is a large dark blue songbird with a crested black head. It is noisy and conspicuous. It ranges from southwestern Alaska, BC, western Alberta southward on the east and western sides of the Rocky Mountains southward into Mexico. It is the western equivalent to its eastern cousin the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata).

Adult Male (spring/summer)

The head which has a prominent crest and, the nape and back are charcoal black. Two vertical blue brows are present above the eyes and are fairly inconspicuous. The wings are blue with dark blue banding and the tail is dark blue. The chin and chest are charcoal. The belly, flanks, vent and undertail coverts are blue. The bill is long and thick. Males tend to be slightly larger than females.

Adult Female (spring/summer)

Females are difficult to distinguish from males visually from a distance but tend to be slightly smaller.

Juvenile

Juveniles are similar to adults, but lack the blue vertical “brows” and its head is lighter charcoal gray.

General:

Large dark Jay. Length: 29-30cm. Wing: 48-49cm. Weight: 105grams.

Behaviour:

The Steller’s Jay hop about on the ground or in the trees with their long legs to forage. Their habit of regularly cocking their heads gives an air of inquisitiveness. They sometimes flock up to 10 or more together and are known to beg food from humans with their raspy calls.

Habitat:

It has readily adapted to urban environments and is a common visitor to residential lawns and other urban habitats. It is also at home in more naturalized areas. Its natural habitat is coniferous to mixed coniferous forests.

Information:

The Steller’s Jay is named after Georg Wilhelm Steller who was the naturalist and physician during the Russian expedition to North America’s northwest in 1741. Sixteen subspecies are recognized throughout its range. They occur from sea level to 2100 m.

Steller’s Jays are omnivorous. They will forage for fruits, seeds and nuts and are known to steal the food caches of other animals. Small vertebrates, insects and other invertebrates are hunted and jays have even been recorded preying on smaller passerines such as Dark-Eyed juncos and Pygmy Nuthatches. They frequently raid the nests of other birds for eggs and nestlings.

Steller’s Jays like many corvids demonstrate intelligent and opportunistic behavior. They have the ability to mimic the calls of other animals such as chickens and dogs. They are known to use this talent to scare other birds from feeders by imitating the calls of raptors such as the Red-Tailed Hawk. They also often mimic raptor calls to deter other jays from intruding on their territory.

Steller’s Jays are year-round residents in British Columbia and not normally migratory. Birds that live in higher elevations move down slope during winter.

Monogamous pairs typically form long-term bonds. Like the Blue Jay, the Steller’s Jay is the only jay species in the Americas known to use mud in nest construction. The mud is used to bind twigs, moss, leaves and even human trash to form a bulky cup up to 25 cm in diameter. The cup is lined with softer materials such as pine needles and hair. A clutch of 2 – 6 light green-blue eggs with brown, purple or olive speckles are laid. The female incubates the eggs for about 16 -18 days. The brood fledges about 16 days after hatching, but is still sustained by the parents for a month.

Jays will form flocks outside of the breeding season termed a “band”, “cast”, “party” or “scold”.

Similar species:

Blue Jay, Pinyon Jay, Western Scrub-Jay.

Conservation Status:

The opportunistic Steller’s Jay expanded its portfolio of habitats and population during the past 20 years as the North American west coast succumbed to urban sprawl and other development. Its reputation as a nest predator would make it a concern for other less adaptable birds. It is listed as Least Concern.

Capture Rates:

The Steller’s Jay is a conspicuous bird of western conifer and mixed conifer forests. Capture rate occurs in the fall as juveniles disperse from areas on the perimeter of Colony Farm and forage in thickets close to the banding station.

Molt Summary:

PF: HY partial; PB: AHY complete; PA absent
Preformative molt usually includes 0-9 inner gr covs, sometimes 1-3 terts, and occasionally central rects (r1)