Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Steller's Jay Photo by Jeff Max - Macaulay Library

Steller's Jay Photo by Rob Palmer Photography

Designated as the provincial bird

of British Columbia in 1987.

The Steller's Jay is recognized as the only 

crested jay in the west of Canada and the U.S.

The Steller's Jay was named after the Arctic explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller who discovered it on the Alaska Coast in 1741.

It has a black head and crest and a sooty black back and breast.  There is also some white or blue striping on the head in some populations.

This bird is omnivorous, eating a wide variety of creatures, including frogs, snakes, the eggs and young of other birds, many kinds of insects, even carrion.

The Steller's Jay population is common in pine-oak forests and coniferous woodland in the West but is accidental in the East.

In winter, family groups often frequent bird feeders.

They frequently mimic the calls of other birds, including hawks and loons.

They are not migratory.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

   

 

Green Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Photo by Scott Martin - Macaulay Library

Blue Jays - brash and flashy...

Green Jays - gaudy and noisy...

Image - Birds of the World

While the Blue Jay is found across southern Canada and in the eastern U.S., The Green Jay is found in Texas, Central America and parts of northern South America only.   A gaudy tropical jay, it is seen  commonly in riverside woods, oak groves, parks, suburbs, and dry brushlands of southern Texas.   They typically show up in small flocks.

Colour-wise, they are unmistakable, being mostly green, paler and yellow below, with purple and black head, and bright yellow outer tail  feathers.

My National Geographic Field Guide says the Green Jay's green and blue plumage blends with dappled sunlight and shade in woodland habitats.

National Geographic goes on to say that Green Jays are resident and locally common  in woodland and brushy areas of the lower Rio Grand Valley and locally further north and south.

Its expanding northern population occurs from southern Texas down through eastern Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, and in a second, narrower band along the Pacific Slope in Mexico.

It South American population extends from northeastern Venezuela west and then south along the Andes Mountains to Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and northwest Bolivia.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Western Grebe

Carving by Liza Chia - Art Feather Inc.

(Purchased by me almost 30 years ago in Toronto, Ontario)

The Western Grebe is a large (25") graceful swimmer that is common on many freshwater marshes in south-western Canada and the north-western U.S.A.   It is also found on coastal bays in winter.

It is striking black and white, with a swan-like neck, long thin yellowish-green bill and red eyes.   It is comparable to winter-plumage loons.

Many grebes have courtship dances, the Western Grebe, like the Clark's Grebe, performs a spectacular splashy race across water, with loud calls.

The Western Grebe is a highly aquatic and graceful swimmer that swims extremely well underwater but is almost helpless on land.

BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.