Post by Gord on Aug 10, 2018 16:43:05 GMT -8
Recently a report came in of an odd jay that was coming to a feeder in Chilliwack. At first, the species was not immediately known and when I saw the photos I could see why. The smaller scale photos I saw were very interesting and had me wondering could this be a Woodhouse's Scrub Jay which is an interior species. So far, the ones we've been seeing in B.C. is the California Scrub Jay which is the expected species for here. The Woodhouse's is a southern species and would have to travel much further north to wind up in B.C.
The reason for the Woodhouse's musings was because the bird had greyish underparts and bluish undertail coverts. The blue on the breast was not strongly contrasting which also would work for a Woodhouse's. California Scrub Jays have whiter underparts and stronger more contrasting blue. This bird's tail seems to be in molt so it was not a young bird that might look duller in the colour department. A young bird would keep its tail feathers until next year. Jamie and I went to see if we could see it and get some more photos. We were unsuccessful but I did get the photos full size and we were able to tell from them that it appears to be a hybrid; probably with a Steller's Jay. The slightly different blue in the head might indicate the dark colour of a Steller's influence. The clincher in our opinion was the slight dark bars on the tail and wings and some bluish feathers on the belly that a scrub jay shouldn't have. There is a suggestion of a crest but depending on posture, sometimes feathers can look a bit tufted on bird species without crests. It's quite subtle to say the least and I was wondering that a hybrid would show more Steller's Jay as well. But who knows how genes show through on a certain individual. I guess it's also possible that this is a backcross of a 50/50 Steller's and Scrub Jay that bred with a pure Scrub Jay? That might explain what seems to be dominant Scrub Jay features. I've had a quick look around to see if this has been documented elsewhere and so far have come up with one bird from Colorado. As the Scrub Jay moves northwards perhaps it's a higher probability that a lone Scrub Jay will breed with a Steller's if there are no other Scrub Jays available. It will be neat to see the bird when it's done molting.
Some photos that the homeowner captured.
Image1 by Gord G, on Flickr
Image14 by Gord G, on Flickr
Image13 by Gord G, on Flickr
Image7 by Gord G, on Flickr
Image6 by Gord G, on Flickr
The reason for the Woodhouse's musings was because the bird had greyish underparts and bluish undertail coverts. The blue on the breast was not strongly contrasting which also would work for a Woodhouse's. California Scrub Jays have whiter underparts and stronger more contrasting blue. This bird's tail seems to be in molt so it was not a young bird that might look duller in the colour department. A young bird would keep its tail feathers until next year. Jamie and I went to see if we could see it and get some more photos. We were unsuccessful but I did get the photos full size and we were able to tell from them that it appears to be a hybrid; probably with a Steller's Jay. The slightly different blue in the head might indicate the dark colour of a Steller's influence. The clincher in our opinion was the slight dark bars on the tail and wings and some bluish feathers on the belly that a scrub jay shouldn't have. There is a suggestion of a crest but depending on posture, sometimes feathers can look a bit tufted on bird species without crests. It's quite subtle to say the least and I was wondering that a hybrid would show more Steller's Jay as well. But who knows how genes show through on a certain individual. I guess it's also possible that this is a backcross of a 50/50 Steller's and Scrub Jay that bred with a pure Scrub Jay? That might explain what seems to be dominant Scrub Jay features. I've had a quick look around to see if this has been documented elsewhere and so far have come up with one bird from Colorado. As the Scrub Jay moves northwards perhaps it's a higher probability that a lone Scrub Jay will breed with a Steller's if there are no other Scrub Jays available. It will be neat to see the bird when it's done molting.
Some photos that the homeowner captured.
Image1 by Gord G, on FlickrImage14 by Gord G, on FlickrImage13 by Gord G, on FlickrImage7 by Gord G, on FlickrImage6 by Gord G, on Flickr
