Gray jay, Olympic National Park, 2014.
Summary
The gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis) lives year-round on permanent territories in coniferous forests. This species seems to prefer black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni), jack pine (Pinus banksiana) or lodgepole pine (Picea contorta). They do not like snowy coniferous forests or lower elevations. The key requirement for the gray jay seems to be cold temperatures that allow successful storage of perishable food as well as tree bark with pliable scales arranged in a shingle-like configuration so the jay can wedge food items easily into these natural, dry, concealed storage locations!
Tags
Date
2014
Source
National Parks Gallery
Copyright info
Public Domain Dedication