I saw some bald blue jays over at Zen Birdfeeder recently. My stellers jays aren’t bald, but their head feathers aren’t very black anymore, and all the feathers look a bit rough. The birds hide in the grass as though they don’t wish to be seen in molt.
Interesting how an animal with no hair can have a bad hair day, isn’t it?
Looks to me like that one is having more problem with its beak than it’s feathers! Poor thing… I’ve read miss-aligned mandabills will cause them not to properly wear down, so they grow and grow.
Beverly, Thanks for mentioning the beak in the top photo. I got several photos of that bird and noticed first the curve in the beak not seen in the other jays. I was hoping birders would comment on this. Thanks!
Oh wren, it is!
I find Stellar Jays beautiful. Are they considered pains like Blue Jays are here?
Zen, I don’t know if other people consider the stellers jays pains. I love to photograph them. When I put seed out for them, the first to come calls for its friends and soon there are several feasting together. They may be aggressive, but I haven’t seen it. The small juncos will feed alongside the jays and don’t seem to be bothered by them.
Great quality stuff.
A lot of Steelers Jays have slightly curved beaks (to left or right) and I don’t think that’s a concern or health impediment—it may actually aid certain probing abilities. Re: the grey, rumpled look, almost all juvenile birds including jays have ‘inferior’ drab and unkempt-looking body feathers until their body molt in their first fall or late summer depending on their hatch month. Finally, some jays have particularly intense head/neck molts in which they may be virtually bald. While, as an earlier reply mentioned, they usually stay as secluded as possible during these molts, if you happen to see them they may look very sick, diseased and lethargic — and I’m sure they are at greater risk for cat and other predation during this period.