A California Scrub Jay in Carmel, California

[NBachers]

A California Scrub Jay flew past and landed in front of me last week in Carmel, California, with a prize it had found. They usually don't stand still long enough for me to photograph them.

If someone wanted to drive this picture in the Wrong Direction, they could photoshop a Circus Peanut in its beak.

Cross-posted in the photography forum.

[Silver Gaia]

1. Thank you. We have lots of them around our property,

and we love them. They are sassy characters! We've had them take peanuts from our hands. We had one we called Springsteen because he was "the boss" who came to supervize whatever we did outside.

[NBachers]

2. Interesting- They're apparently confident and talkative birds. I'd love to see how they break the peanut shell open.

[Silver Gaia]

4. To open a peanut only takes a few seconds for them.

They hold it with their feet and quickly open the shell with their beak.

They have many vocalizations that mean different things to them. There's one we call "Snake!" that's an alarm. Another that you will only hear rarely we call "DuckDuck." It's a soft clucking.They make this sound when they are happy, contented, like after eating a peanut. They like music, especially Celtic or similar, and will "dance" by leaping branch to branch in rhythm. They are very social and have large family groups, like crows and magpies. The "aunts" and "uncles" will help feed babies. They are super smart and a lot of fun!

[NBachers]

5. Thanks - I really appreciate your stories and information!

[Silver Gaia]

6. I am happy to share!

They like it if you talk to them. They will cock their heads and listen. They seem to recognize and enjoy the connection. They are super smart. Corvids-- crows, jays, ravens, and magpies -- are the most intelligent of all birds. They will even make tools.

Jay is often depicted as a trickster (all jays), like Crow and Coyote, in some.Native American tales. I have a book with some of those stories in it.

[AllaN01Bear]

3. i have them around tic toc base .

i love them. they are loud and very fun to watch

[AllaN01Bear]

7. shaq, shaq shaq, or what what what.