How to Identify aSteller's Jay
Cyanocitta stelleri · 11.8–13.4 in (30–34 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Blackish head with a tall shaggy crest, blending into vivid deep blue on the wings, tail and belly. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Noel Reynolds / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 · Second photo: Martin Jambon / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Tall dark shaggy crest
- Sooty-black front half contrasting with deep blue rear
- Fine pale streaks on the forehead
- No white in the wings or tail
Similar species
What it sounds like
A harsh descending "shaack-shaack-shaack", plus excellent imitations of Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks.
Behaviour that gives it away
Bold around picnic tables and campsites, and caches thousands of pine seeds each autumn to recover through winter.
Habitat & range
Conifer and mixed mountain forest from Alaska down the West Coast and through the Rockies.
When you'll see it
Present all year in western and northern North America.
What it eats
Pine seeds, acorns, insects, eggs, and scraps taken boldly from campsites.
Did you know?
It mimics the calls of hawks well enough to scatter other birds from a feeder, then feed undisturbed.
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