Backyard Update #4: Blue Birds

"Blue Birds"
by Emily

I first wanted to tell my grandpa (Yeh Yeh) about a blue bird or blue jay. Many people see blue jays here but they actually don't. Yes it's blue and is a jay, yes it's blue and it's a bird, but it's not a bluebird or blue jay. Blue Jays are on the eastern side of the U.S. They aren't in our area. I'm going to show you the difference between a blue jay and a bluebird with a few others.

This is a Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). It's the "blue jay" that everyone says they see. These don't live here in CA. About 11-13 inches in length from beak to tail. It's about the size of a small pigeon. It's very slender though. It has a light blue crest and a white face. It has a black band around its beak and around its neck like a "necklace". A pure white belly and a light blue back. The wings are bold blue with small black vertical bands with a white wing bar. The tail is bold blue with horizontal black bands. Its beak is black. Has a loud noisy call.

This is a Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana). This bird is actually quite small compared to the Blue Jay. It is only about 6-7 inches from beak to tail. Smaller than the average American Robin. It has a bright blue head with a pale blue belly. Rusty red covers the breast and around the wings. The wings are a bright blue color. Its beak is black. A shy bird that doesn't caw. Jays are more tame.

This is a Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica). These birds are the birds you see that are "blue birds." Western Scrub-Jays have no crest and are often confused with the Blue Jay by inexperienced birders. They are average jay sized. (11-13 in) Having a white belly and splotchy chest with black around its eye and face. Starting from the top of its head to the lower neck is blue with a small gray part in the middle of its back. With blue extending from the rest of its body down to its tail. Many Jays will act similar: cawing loud noisy sounds.

This is a Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). With a crest like the Blue Jay, people who haven't seen a Blue Jay will confuse this with a Blue Jay because of the crest. Average jay size. A Steller's Jay will have an entire black crest mixing into a black at the neck, turning from black to a bold blue. Of course acting like a Jay.

Now you know how to identify "blue birds".

If you set out peanuts of the jays, you will more likely attract the Western Scrub-Jay. I took a video of it taking a peanut.

Sorry bad footage. I took it. You can see other birds in the background. You might hear the TV in the background. It took a while just to choose one peanut. It chooses which is the heaviest then it flies off. Probably a secret stash of peanuts. It eventually takes all of the peanuts so it really doesn't matter which is the heaviest. Silly Scrubbie. (Western Scrub-Jay nickname) If you are going to offer peanuts, it shouldn't be roasted or salted. Just plain raw.