Western Scrub-Jay

The Western Scrub-Jay is a year-round resident of Aldea. They are very quick so it was difficult to get great photos, and it took a lot of patience, but I was finally able to get one “scrubbing” in one of the low granite bird baths. That is not where their name comes from as their name alludes to the “scrub” of their range of habitat including scrub oak, woodland areas, and chaparral.

This bird is a medium-size crestless jay with a blue head, wings and tail. It has a gray mask, back and pale underparts. Its bill, legs and feet are black. This jay is stunning in the right sunlit angle.

In a recent meeting of the Aldea Birding Group, it was noted that folks sometimes confuse all the variety of “blue-colored” birds found here. Most often locally the Western Scrub-Jay is confused with Pinyon Jays, Stellar’s Jays, Western Bluebirds, and Mountain Bluebirds. I will try to do a post of all the confusing blue-colored birds once I can snare photos of them all. The Mexican Jay is similar but they are found only in the very southwestern-most part of New Mexico, not in Aldea.

Those that inhabit the interior states of the U. S. have slightly different feather patterns and markings from the coastal states Western Scrub-Jays. At one point ornithological organizations were considering separating the two by name, but so far that has not happened. The range maps show these beautiful blue and gray colored birds are found throughout New Mexico and on down into central Mexico.

The Western Bluebirds currently bringing up new hatchlings in a nesting box in our backyard create quite a commotion when the jay arrives in the yard. Many of the other birds join in the chorus to deter the jays. This is because the Western Scrub-Jay will eat the eggs and young of other birds given the opportunity. Thankfully, the hole in the bluebird nesting box is too small for jays. That is the theory anyway.

A group of jays is known as a “band”, “cast”,”party”, and “scold” of jays.

Click on photos to enlarge.