About The Steller
The Stellers Jay with its deep blue and black plumage and shaggy crest, is a stunning and attractive albeit noisy bird. Its front part is black and its rear is deep blue. The dark shade of the front part of its body extends down its back and down its breast and its wings have a faint dark stripe. One distinguishing trait of the Stellers Jay is the vertical blue eyebrows present above each eye of the adult bird. The male and female Stellers Jays look alike.
The Stellers Jay Nesting Preferences
Stellers Jays generally like to build their nests and breed in dense, coniferous forests although they may widen their choices of forested habitats within a year. Both the male and the female Stellers Jays help to build the cup-like nest from moss, twigs, weeds, and leaves, held together with mud. The linings for the nest are normally provided by rootlets, pine needles, and other fine material.
Typically, the female Stellers Jay lays 4 to 5 eggs which it incubates for 16 to 18 days. Feeding the young is the responsibility of both the male and the female. After 16 days, these young birds leave the nest to find their own food. They begin making short flights as fledging but after 30 days, they are capable of sustained flights. In spite of this, however, the adult Stellers Jays continue to provide food for the fledgings for about a month after they fledge.
Building a Birdhouse For The Steller
Stellers Jays have no particular birdhouse created for them. A very aggressive and domineering bird, Stellers Jays prefer to steal other peoples nests and prey on their young. The Stellers Jays are major predators of other specieseggs.
The Steller
Stellers Jays form monogamous pair bonds that last for a long time. Once mated, the pair always move around their territory together. They help one another build their nest and while the female is incubating the male bird guards the nest and his partner. Once the eggs are hatched, both the male and female provide the young birds with food. The male bird guides his offspring as the latter tries to learn how to fly the coop.
The Stellers Jay Feeding Preferences
Stellers Jays diet includes 2/3 vegetable-matter and 1/3 animal-matter. The vegetable matter is made up of seeds, nuts, berries, and fruits, while the animal-matter portion consists of bird eggs and nestlings, invertebrates, suet, small rodents, reptiles, and carrion. Steller;s Jays also eat any leftovers or scraps that humans throw their way. They also comprise the major predators of other species eggs.
Interesting Stellers Jay Facts
Stellers Jays are often seen in parks and picnic areas loudly begging for food and scraps in a loud and raspy voice. Extremely vocal outside of the nesting season, these birds can be so extremely quiet when they are in the process of stealing other birds nests or preying on their young. Intelligent and aggressive, the Stellers Jay is very active in feeders especially those full of peanuts which it caches and stores deep in the ground.