365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Monday, June 17, 2024
Steller's Fledgling
Day 248: All around me, new little people are discovering the world. From Merry (currently asleep in my lap after a large THIRD breakfast) to the baby juncoes and short-winged, short-tailed Grosbeaks I have to sidestep when I go outside, they are learning lessons, exploring, testing boundaries, curious about anything and everything they see. This Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is newly fledged. How can I tell? His colouration isn't well-developed for one thing, and his facial markings haven't come in yet, but more to the point, his gape (the fleshy "hinge" of his beak) is still pinkish. The pink or light-coloured gape exhibited by many young birds helps the parents find them in the dark confines of the nest. It turns dark within a few days of fledging.
Labels:
Cyanocitta stelleri,
fledgling,
Steller's Jay
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