Grey Jay

Description:

Large songbirds with a rounded head, short neck and bill and a long rounded tail. Upperparts are grey and the underparts are much paler ( almost white) - also includes neck, cheek patch and forehead.

Habitat:

Spotted in the Cascade mountains at around 3500 ft. There was plenty of old growth spruce bogs nearby - their preferred habitat. There was still plenty of snow at this elevation, especially in the shady areas. Grey Jays can sustain themselves throughout the year in these habitats by stashing food in bark crevices in the summer.

Notes:

Surprisingly, they nest and raise their young in late winter and early spring, not during the brief northern summer. Mated pairs stay together all year, and defend permanent territories. Early in breeding season, male may perform courtship feeding of female. Nesting begins remarkably early, during late winter, while breeding grounds still snow-covered. Nest site is in dense conifer, close to trunk at base of branch; usually fairly low, averaging about 15' above the ground. Nest (built by both sexes) is a bulky flat cup of twigs, lichens, strips of bark, and caterpillar webs, lined with softer materials including animal hair and feathers.