Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
STANFORD LOCATIONS: Fairly rare resident in wooded areas near the Dish, very rarely occurring elsewhere on campus during winter.

Nest Location	Nest Type	Eggs Mating System	Dev. Parental Care	Primary & 2ndary Diet	Foraging Strategy
			F I: 16 DAYS ALTRICIAL
8 - 25 feet (To 100 feet)	MF	4 (2-6) MONOG?	F: ? DAYS MF		FOLIAGE ..... GLEAN

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BREEDING:	Coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, arid pine-oak woodland. 1 brood.
DISPLAYS:	Courtship feeding of female by male; male circles female, aligns sideways to her, often reversing direction through 180" jump.
NEST:	On horizontal branch or in crotch, occ in deciduous tree, shrub; bulky foundation of twigs, dry leaves, cemented with mud, lined with rootlets, pine needles, grass.
EGGS:	Pale greenish-blue or bluish-green, marked with dark browns. 1.2" (30 mm).
DIET:	30% insects, other invertebrates and small vertebrates, bird eggs, nestlings; 70% acorns or pine seeds, fruit, seeds. December-January diet 90%-99% acorns or pine seeds.
CONSERVATION:	Winter resident; some movement to lower elevations in winter.
NOTES:	Pair defend territory of immediate vicinity around nest. Often congregate at feeding sites, even when breeding. Cache food and steal from Acorn Woodpecker caches. Postbreeding family groups remain together until fall. Scream strongly resembles Red-tailed Hawk's. Hybridizes with Blue Jay where their ranges contact along the Front Range of Colorado.
ESSAYS:	Hoarding Food; Great Plains Hybrids; Vocal Copying; Finding Hidden Caches; Courtship Feeding; DDT and Birds.
REFERENCES:	Brown, 1964; Goodwin, 1976.

Help	Abbreviations	Species-Alphabetical	Species-Taxonomic	Essays-Alphabetical	Essays-Categorized
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).