Habitat

Forest

Steller’s Jays are birds of coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. In the southwestern U.S. and Mexico they also live in arid pine-oak woodland. You’ll typically find them at elevations of 3,000-10,000 feet, and lower down in the evergreen forests of the Pacific coastal foothills. During irruptive movements in some winters, flocks may move through unusual habitats such as Sonoran desert.

Food

Omnivore

A generalist forager, Steller’s Jays eat insects, seeds, berries, nuts, small animals, eggs, and nestlings. Around people, they also eat garbage, unguarded picnic items, and feeder fare such as peanuts, sunflower seeds, and suet. With large nuts such as acorns and pinyon pine seeds, Steller’s Jays carry several at a time in their mouth and throat, then bury them one by one as a winter food store. Steller’s Jays are opportunists and will steal food from other birds or look for handouts from people.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Tree

Both members of the pair choose the nest site, typically a conifer, and both gather nest material. Steller’s Jays put their nests on horizontal branches close to the trunk and often near the top of the tree (though some nests are built much lower, even just above ground level).

Behavior

Ground Forager

Steller’s Jays move around with bold hops of their long legs, both on the ground and among the spokelike main branches of conifers. They pause often to eye their surroundings, cocking their head with sudden movements this way and that. Jays have incredible spatial memories, and Steller’s Jays store surplus food in caches. They also raid the caches of Clark’s Nutcrackers and other jays. Steller’s Jays are common nest predators, stealing both eggs and chicks from the nests of many species. They are very social, traveling in groups, sometimes playing with or chasing each other, or joining mixed-species flocks. One of the most vocal species of mountainous forests, Steller’s Jays keep up a running commentary on events and often instigate mobbing of predators and other possibly dangerous intruders.

Conservation

Least Concern

Steller's Jay populations remained relatively stable, showing some local declines, between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 2.8 million with 70% occurring in the U.S., 9% in Canada, and 18% in Mexico. Steller's Jay rates an 11 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, and is a U.S.-Canada Stewardship species. It is not on the 2016 State of North America's Birds' Watch List.

Credits

• Greene, Erick, William Davison and Vincent R. Muehter. 1998. Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). In The Birds of North America, No. 343 (A. Poole, Ed.). The Birds of North America Online, Ithaca, New York.
• Dunne, P. 2006. Pete Dunne’s essential field guide companion. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
• Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook. Simon & Schuster Inc., New York.
• North American Bird Conservation Initiative. 2016. The State of North America’s Birds 2016. Environment and Climate Change Canada: Ottawa, Ontario.
• Partners in Flight. 2012. Species assessment database.
• Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, J.E. Fallon, K.L. Pardieck, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr., and W.A. Link. 2016. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966–2015, Version 01.30.2015. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD.
• USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. 2016. Longevity records of North American Birds.