Birds of the Sierra: Steller's Jay

Of all the birds in the Sierra, perhaps none is more handsome, more regal, more raucous than the Steller's Jay. 

Stop at any picnic table or parking lot in the Sierra Nevada at any time of year, and you're almost guaranteed a good look at the crested silhouette of this fine forest dweller.  Like other corvids (the family consisting of crows, ravens and jays), the Steller's Jay is not shy, not subtle, and not silent.  The Steller's Jay commands attention, and usually gets it!


The Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) inhabits coniferous forests in the western United States where its dark blue and black coloration blends in with the deep shadows of the woods.  In California, they are found living in flocks from the forests of coastal and northern California to the Sierra.  (In the eastern United States, they are replaced by the ubiquitous and closely related Blue Jay of the same genus.)


Like most other corvids, Steller's Jays will feed on nearly anything they can get their strong bills on, from nuts, seeds, acorns and fruit to insects, birds' eggs and nestlings, and human-generated garbage.  They are bold birds, actively seeking to snatch food from other birds or handouts from people. 


In places where sensitive species nest, such as the Marbled Murrelet of California's coastal redwood forests, visitors are strongly cautioned against leaving any scraps, garbage or crumbs around picnic areas and campsites, as an excess of unnatural food results in an abundance of corvids, including our handsome Steller's Jay, which are nest predators of the vulnerable murrelets.  (As much as I love the clever and cunning corvids, I hate to see nests of other birds raided.  A few weeks ago, a mockingbird was nesting happily in a tangled forsythia outside our library window.  More than once, I banged on the window to scare away a marauding scrub jay.  We went away for a few days, and when we returned, the nest was tattered and empty, not a mockingbird or egg in sight.  I can only blame the persistent, pillaging scrub jay.  Such is the circle of life.)


Steller's Jays  are gregarious birds, often flocking together or with other species and keeping up a nearly constant stream of chatter that echoes through the forest.  They are certainly not songbirds, but their distinct calls are one of the most recognizable and often heard voices of the Sierra.


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