What is in a name? Nomenclature does not necessarily follow the rules of logic. Common names of animals might or might not be related to scientific names, and might or might not be intuitive. Let’s explore the names of five different jays that occur in Colorado. Members of the corvid family (Corvidae), they are among the smartest birds, and, I think, among the most handsome and entertaining.
The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), is a recent resident of Colorado, having expanded its range from the eastern United States only in the last one to two decades. Cyanocitta cristata can be translated as blue-crested chattering bird (kyáneos: Greek for blue, kitta: Greek for chattering bird, crista: Latin for crest). Chattering is an understatement, as it often announces its presence unabashedly and vociferously, with a clarion call, though its extensive repertoire also includes a lovely fluting melody. It is a great vocal mimic and seems to particularly enjoy posing as a Red-tailed Hawk, confusing other birds and birders. Its name is somewhat unfortunate, as there are a number of blue jays that are not Blue Jays.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)/Blauhäher

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)/Blauhäher
The Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri ) is dressed in darker shades of blue and black, and was first described by German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), after whom the Steller’s Sea Cow and Steller’s Sea Eagle were also named. It, too, has a crest, which is more conspicuous than the Blue Jay’s, so I think that Cyanocitta cristata would be a more apt appellation than Cyanocitta stelleri, but I am afraid that I am a few centuries too late to submit a proposal to the naming committee.

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)/Diademhäher
The Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii), also clad in blue, is a resident of dry scrub oak-juniper habitat. It was designated a separate species from the California Scrub Jay and the Island Scrub Jay only in 2016, all three of them having formerly been lumped together as Western Scrub Jays. Its scientific name pays tribute to Samuel Washington Woodhouse (1821-1904), American surgeon, explorer, and naturalist, and emphasizes the fact that it has simple hair, or simple feathers (in Greek, apheles means simple, and coma hair), because their feathers lack stripes or bands.

Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii)/Woodhouse Buschhäher

Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii))/Woodhouse Buschhäher
Completing the Colorado blue quartet, the Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) loves pinyon pine forests, and is the most gregarious among the bunch, occurring predominantly in noisy flocks. Its scientific name should trigger some neurons. We already know that kyaneos means blue in Greek, and can derive that kephalus means head, from words like encephalitis (an inflammation of the encephalon: the organ inside the head). Gymnorhinus tells us that it has a naked nose (gymnós: Greek for naked, rhinus: Greek for nose), as the base of its beak is featherless. This makes it singularly suited to probe pine cones heavy with pitch, which would mess up the feathers present on the beaks of other jays.

Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus)/Nacktschnabelhäher
Last, but not least: the Canada Jay. Not blue! After being known as Gray Jay for many years, despite its scientific name Perisoreus canadensis, its common name was brought in line only in the summer of 2018. Other fun designations hint at its rascally behavior and include Whisky Jack and, very aptly, camp robber. No sooner do we stop for a picnic in the mountains than a few appear like gray ghosts seemingly out of nowhere. They are known to rummage through camps in search of edibles. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek perisōreuō (to bury underneath, or to heap up), and highlights the fact that they cache their food, which helps them survive the harsh winter months in their year-round high-elevation or northern boreal forest habitats, where they also lay eggs in freezing temperatures.

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)/Meisenhäher

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)/Meisenhäher
Blue or gray, flat-headed or topped with a crown, shy or companionable, I love all our jays and delight in observing them at the feeder, or out in the wild.
What adorable creatures, Tanja!
It’s always a great school day alighting on your doorstep.
I will be encouraging the use of ‘cyanocitta cristata’ from this side of the birdbath.
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They ARE adorable, Nick, aren’t they?!
I am glad you alighted on my doorstep, but I hope I do not have the reputation of being an old schoolmarm! 🙂
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LOL! Not to me!
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Phew-I AM relieved!
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die sind aber sehr hübsch, die vögel. schöne fotos.
hab eine gute woche, liebe tanja.
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Wow….what a great series of bird images, Tanja. Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay in Particular.
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Thank you, Vicki. I have a hard time picking favorites, but Blue and Gray Jays are a lot of fun, because they tend to interact more with humans, so it is easier to observe their, at times, very humorous antics.
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Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is my favorite, if you can even say that. Beautiful birds!
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Thank you, Simone. So far, Woodhouse’s has received two votes! I love them all!
Happy birding.
Tanja
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Was für wunderschöne Vögel! Bluebirds! Ich kenn glaube ich nur den Eichelhäher, der ein bisschen blau im Gefieder hat. Und toll fotografiert!
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Herzlichen Dank, liebe Petra. Häher sind einfach tolle Vögel. Den Eichelhäher finde ich auch sehr attraktiv, doch leider ist mir noch kein schönes Porträt von ihm gelungen. Vielleicht beim nächsten Besuch!
Liebe Grüße,
Tanja
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Vielleicht erwische ich ja auch diesen Winter mal einen am Futterhaus 🙂
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Das wäre schön. Good luck!
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Ahhh, so pretty they are-and so blue 🙂
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Thank you. Yes, so blue, but in a good way! 😊
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So tolle Vögel! Wir haben im Mai in Kalifornien auch die Bluebirds gesehen. Einige sahen wir im Yosemite Nationalpark
LG Andrea
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Vielen Dank, liebe Andrea. Ich bin immer froh, wenn mir welche über den Weg fliegen. 😊
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Oooooh wie schön und niedlich sind die denn alle? Ich schmelze mal wieder dahin. Was für tolle Vögel und all diese schönen Aufnahmen. Und manche sind aus deinem Garten? Wie schön! Was für tolle Federn sie haben, wirklich wie ein Diadem!, und auch der Kopfschmuck, herrlich 🙂 Der Meisenhäher erinnert mich an unsere Schwanzmeisen, vom Kopf her, die Schwanzfedern sind ja wesentlich dünner. Vielen vielen Dank für diesen schönen ornithologischen Ausflug liebe Tanja. Ich hab mich sehr gefreut 🙂 LG, Almuth
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Ich danke Dir für Deine ausgesprochen positive Reaktion, liebe Almuth. Es freut mich immer besonders, wenn jemand meine Begeisterung für Vögel teilt.
Jetzt wo es auf den Winter zugeht, kommen die ersten drei der gelisteten Arten regelmäßig in den Garten zur Futterstation, so daß ich mich täglich an ihnen erfreuen kann. 😊
Herzliche Grüße,
Tanja
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Sie sind sooo putzig!! Herrlich. Unser Eichelhäher ist ja auch schon witzig, aber eure Arten mit den tollen Farben oder dem “irren” Kopfschmuck 🙂 Klasse! Für mich ist es immer wieder schön zu sehen, was es woanders gibt. Vielen Dank fürs Zeigen! LG, Almuth
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Danke fürs Schauen!!!
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Schöne Vögel sind das und clevere.
Hast du sehr schön in Szene gesetzt, Tanja.
Im Winter hab ich den Eichelhäher backyard und er hat mir auch schon sein Kind gebracht 🙂
Hübsch sind sie und laut.
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Herzlichen Dank, liebe Brigitte. Die Häher sind einfach etwas Besonderes. Auch den Eichelhäher liebe ich. Ich freue mich auf Deine Fotos, wenn sie wieder bei Dir am Futterhäuschen auftauchen!
Ganz liebe Grüße,
Tanja
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Evening, Tanja. Beautiful birds. How far away from them were you when you took their pictures?
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And a good evening to you, Neil (though I suspect that you are slumbering by now).
I used my zoom for most of the photos, probably was between 5 and 10 yards away.
The Gray Jays sometimes come much closer, which is always a special treat.
Do you get to see Blue Jays in your neighborhood?
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Yes, though I’m not as aware of them (or of other birds) as I should be.
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It is never to late to start! 😊
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Beautiful birds all! 🙂
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I so agree, H. J. Thank you for sharing my enthusiasm for these (and all) birds. 😊🐦
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Such beautiful birds, all of them! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Takami. I never tire of seeing them.
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The first two of them look a bit mean (or maybe clever, I don’t know the proper word) but all of them are beautiful.
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Thank you, Cornell. I wouldn’t call them mean, but they are quite bold and at times a little bossy. The other birds often get out of their way. 🙂
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Ah, yes, bold is the right word.
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That Stellers Jay is very smart, nice to read of this family (we only have one Jay, I did a post sometime back).
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Thank you. I was so thrilled to get the Steller’s Jay with its crest displaying like halo. 🙂
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Of all the Jays that you have listed in this entry, I have seen (and see them constantly) the Blue Jay and once, out west, I saw the Canada Jay. I would so much love to see the others! One day…..
Kindest regards,
Christa
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I hope you will get to see them, Christa. Come visit Colorado! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
Tanja
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I grew up seeing many bluejays in New York. For a time my mother had an injured one that she rescued and that became semi-tame.
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That would have been an amazing experience, Steve. They are so smart. Once I put out peanuts, it often takes less than a minute for one to appear, and once it trumpets its find to the neighborhood, it is soon joined by a whole group.
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You just introduced me to two new Jays, thank you, Tanja! 🙂
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Which ones were new for you, Donna?
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The Pinyon Jay and Canada Jay 🙂
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Thank you for letting me know.
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Breathtaking!
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Thank you. I am in love with all of them! 🙂
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There could be no mornings without these charming little creatures. BIG SMILE 😊☕☕
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What a delightful post! I love jays, too and although we only have one species here, (as far as I know) it is a pretty one and fun to watch. I didn’t know they liked to mimic red-tailed hawks until I was fooled by one. When I spotted him, I swear he laughed!
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Thank you, Melissa. They are beautiful AND smart, and very entertaining to watch (and listen to). I don’t mind being misled by them. 🙂
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I don’t either 🙂
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Tanja – I am so glad that I didn’t read this post until after I moved. I have a pair of blue jays (the one first described in this post) that live in my yard! I feel like I know a little bit more about my blue jay neighbors thanks to this post.
Also I nominated you for three awards. Mystery blogger, Blogger Recognition and Sunshine blogger award. You can check these awards out by hitting the following link:
https://jmlkanewischer.wordpress.com/2019/01/03/awards-for-my-words/
-Jill
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I am glad for your Blue Jays, Jill. You will fall in love with them, if you haven’t already If you can spare some peanuts (shelled, unsalted sold at any birdfood place), they will visit you every day, and you can really get a look at their gorgeous plumage, and get a feel for their amazing vocal range.
I do appreciate the nominations for the awards, but might not follow through. Please don’t take this decision personally. I have been on the fence about the awards for quite a while, but am leaning toward staying award-free. I don’t have a good explanation, it’s really more of a gut feeling, and I think it is up to every blogger to make that decision. But I do appreciate your nominations!
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Tanja – I have already fallen in love with them. They announce themselves as they come into the yard. I will pick up some peanuts the next time I am out running errands.
No worries about the awards. I completely understand. I had been an awards free blog but no one seemed to pay attention. So I decided I would post them once a year as a kind of thank you and recognition for blogs I follow and enjoy. I do not take it personally if someone does not post awards on their site. Think it is up to each person to do what they want with them.
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Thank you for your understanding about the awards, Jill.
And I am not surprised about the jays’s effects on you-they have a way of endearing themselves to us. 🙂
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You have a nice site, however “your” blue Jay’s only resemble in color, those where I live in Pueblo. “Mine” are not friendly to humans, live in a treed condo development with 40+ year old trees; screech obnoxiously and travel in packs, eating smaller birds into oblivion. Same behavior as the blue Jays of my youth in MN.
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Thank you for your comment. I don’t necessarily like some bird behaviors either, but they can’t help themselves and merely act according to their instincts.
Humans are far worse because we have a choice and often choose to do wrong.
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