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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
The Blue jay is a common bird in this part of the United States. Each winter we will two or three at our feeders all most every day. They can be aggressive if they want to be. I have seen them run off a Coopers Hawk who was stalking the feeder for unsuspecting birds. The Jay's wanted to eat in peace so they just ran the hawk out of the trees.
From Wikipedia:
Blue Jay
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Infraclass: Neognathae
Superorder: Neoaves
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Passeri
Superfamily: Corvoidea
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanocitta
Species: C. cristata
Binomial name
Cyanocitta cristata
Linnaeus, 1758
The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird, and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. It belongs to the "blue" or American jays, which are, among the Corvidae, not closely related to other jays. It is adaptable, aggressive and omnivorous, and has been colonizing new habitat for many decades.
Description:
The Blue Jay measures 9-12 inches (22-30 cm) from bill to tail and weighs 2.47-3.53 ounces (70–100 g), with a wingspan of 13–17 in (34–43 cm).[1] There is a pronounced crest on the head, a crown of feathers, which may be raised or lowered according to the bird's mood. When excited or aggressive, the crest may be fully raised. When frightened, the crest bristles outwards, brush like. When the bird is feeding among other jays or resting, the crest is flattened to the head.[2]
Its plumage is lavender-blue to mid-blue in the crest, back, wings, and tail, and its face is white. The underside is off-white and the neck is collared with black which extends to the sides of the head. The wing primaries and tail are strongly barred with black, sky-blue and white. The bill, legs, and eyes are all black. Males and females are nearly identical; males are slightly larger.
As with other blue-hued birds, the Blue Jay's coloration is not derived by pigments, but is the result of light refraction due to the internal structure of the feathers; if a blue feather is crushed, the blue disappears as the structure is destroyed. This is referred to as structural coloration.
Blue Jays have strong black bills used for cracking nuts, and acorns and for eating corn, grains and seeds, although they also eat insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars.
Enjoy - Bob |
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