Howard Faxon
Officially these guys are Aphelocoma californica. Their common name is the California Scrub-Jay. They are in the family Corvidae.
Along the Pacific seaboard from Washington state to Baja California this is the “blue jay” that is a fixture in our backyards. They are assertive, inquisitive, and harsh vocalizers. They are omnivorous and eat a large variety of insects in the summer and acorns, nuts, and seeds in the winter. They will also eat rodents and the eggs or young of other birds as well as small amphibians. By their behavior you can tell they are definitely Corvids, much like small and colorful crows. You will often find them high in the trees being lookouts when not foraging on the ground.
We do not have these birds in our land. They are really something special.
They have the personality of crows. They are smaller and are colorful but they are very much like crows. They came to my yard everyday so I filmed them a lot. A little movie is in the works.
It is the most colorful bird we have here. These guys are in my yard regularly and I like seeing them. Thanks for stopping in.
Aphelocoma californica is beautiful blue bird.
I agree. I got to know them quite well. They were in my yard constantly. I have a lot of photos and film clips of them.
Thanks for stopping in!
now I am just imagining birds in a police lineup
That’s funny – you just made me laugh at the possibilities
guess the scrub jay is a jailbird?
Great shot. We have the Blue Jays here with similar behavior.
They are beautiful but aggressive.
Ours are officially Cyanocitta cristata
Order: PASSERIFORMES Family: CORVIDAE
From the same family as yours.
They are definitely Corvids like crows, ravens, etc… Where I live now I have Coopers Jays – I need to look them up. They are cool looking but illusive for photos. I have only caught good shots of them a couple of times so far.
Good capture , thank you for sharing
Thanks so much! I’m glad that you stopped in.
ok mug shot made me laugh!
Hey, these guys can be pretty bad actors! They eat bees man – tough as nails,…. and brazen…
we have similar flying vermin in Maryland!