Steller's Jay   Pacific Interior West Photos by George Wall Bird watching is always an adventure, especially when you see something unexpected. I had been up to Flagstaff in July, 2007, and took this great picture of a Steller’s Jay. In November of 2007, I went to Albuquerque, New Mexico and I saw another Steller’s Jay, but something seemed wrong about it. I took a picture and then I got out my Sibley’s Field Guide and lo and behold – there are subspecies to this bird. There is a Pacific subspecies and an Interior West subspecies. Description:   Both have an overall dark blue color but with the Pacific jay a little darker. Each have a paler blue rump. Both have very noticeable crests. They are about 11 1.2 inches in length. Their tails are short and broad when compared to most other jays. The difference in the two birds is the white forehead marks on the Interior West jays. Habitat:  Both are residents of conifers and mixed woods usually in higher elevations. They tend to group together in small flocks and are extremely noisy.   Diet:  They feed mainly on pine seeds, acorns and fruit (70%), but they also eat insects, eggs, small vertebras and nestlings (30%). They will steal Acorn Woodpecker’s stash of acorns. Breeding:   Their nests are bulky but compact made of twigs, moss, paper – just about anything – which they cement together with mud. The nest is usually in the crotch of a tree or on a horizontal branch. Sometimes the nest is in a tangle of vines. They have one brood a year and usually around 4-5 greenish, buff or bluish eggs with brown spots. Range:  They are mainly found in the western half of the U.S. but they are also found in Alaska, Mexico and Central America.

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