We featured a Steller’s Jay quite a few years ago (see A Winters Jay) but I like this shot which shows a bit more of their character as ‘chancers’ with an attitude when it comes to grabbing a bite to eat. These birds will often scout, watch and then fly in and grab a morsel of food and make off again pretty quick. Here this guy is keeping a careful eye out, but is taking a chance at grabbing some salmon eggs dropped by a black bear feeding near by. He was successful and pilfered a few eggs before taking to the trees above. You can tell this is a coastal jay, photographed here on the BC coast, by the blue lines above the beak at the base of the crest. Interior variants have white lines.
