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Steller's Jay

Cyanocitta stelleri

It imitates the scream of a Red-tailed Hawk so well that other birds at the feeder scatter.

Where to see it for real: Whole peanuts and sunflower seed on a platform feeder.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Northwest forest habitat (Pacific Northwest, Washington State).

Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri — Photo: Dean Hester, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist. Cut out from the original photo.

Steller's Jay facts

Family: Crows and jays
Length: 12 in (31 cm)
Wingspan: 18 in (45 cm)
Weight: 3.9 oz (110 g)
Diet: Seeds, nuts, berries and insects, and sometimes eggs and nestlings.
Range: Conifer forests of western North America, from Alaska to Central America.
Nest: A bulky cup of twigs and mud in a conifer.
Song: Harsh "shook-shook-shook" calls and imitations of hawks.
Active: by day
Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Steller's Jay sounds like

Recording 1: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

How to attract the Steller's Jay

Feeder foods, favorite first: peanuts, sunflower seed, suet. Feeders that hold them: tube feeder, platform feeder and suet cage. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with peanuts, sunflower seed and suet and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, what to feed birds.