Bird That Looks Like a Blue Jay but Bigger
- #4
erizzo said:
I wondered that, too, since the description sure doesn't fit any NA jays. I attached below a scan of jays from my Birds of Costa Rica book, thinking that the white-throated magpie-jay fits Hoke's description. This is an 18" bird, which is certainly into crow-size territory.
Wow, what a find if so!!!!
Edit: Oops, forgot to say that the WTMJ is the biggest blue jay shown. 
2nd oops: I just realized that Hoke said "black head." My book doesn't show the NW Mexico race "black-throated magpie-jay," so this was probably of no help at all.
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Central American jays.jpg
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- #5
sounds like a Black-throated magpie-jay. The size of this bird is between 22 and 31 inches including tail. It has a black face with crest and it is mostly blue on the upper side and white on the underside.
this is the only bird that can be close to the description and the location where you live.
There is a picture in this link that maybe can help you: http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/animals/Black-throated_magpie_jay.htm
Alejandro
- #6
Hoke,
I agree with Erizzo and others, sounds like one of our Mexican birds, and yes, we want him back!
The suggestion of Black-throated Magpie-Jay sounds right on with your description. That is a Mexican bird endemic to Northwest Mexico and shouldn't be any further north than southern Sonora.
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- #7
Hey, Hoke, you might want to let the California Bird Records Committee know about your sighting. They are (as are all bird records committees) very interested in any out-of-range birds.
- #8
Hi Hoke,
Just as a clarification even a Blue Jay would be a turn up in California. I just found a site with some info on BT Magpie Jays that also had a link to something saying escaped birds of San Diego county (however when you follow the link nothing related appears - it's on the bottom right hand side of the page). I should imagine that your bird is probably an escapee from a zoo private collection etc - here's the link: http://www.whozoo.org/Intro2002/ChrisYork/CEY_MagpieJay.htm
Luke
- #11
Hi Hoke,
The birds look great from the pics a nice spot i'm sure. From the Rare Bird Alert it would seem that these escapees are starting to breed - so who knows it's possible that you may have a situation like we have with the monk parakeets in a few years where they establish themselves as a viable breeding population.
Luke
- #13
Hi Hoke,
I'm trying to get my garden as bird friendly as possible at the moment too - good luck with trying to lure the Jay in for a pic - it'd be good to see them if you get some.
Luke
gthang
Ford Focus Fanatic: mmmmmm... 3.1415926535.....
- #14
Katy Penland said:
I wondered that, too, since the description sure doesn't fit any NA jays. I attached below a scan of jays from my Birds of Costa Rica book, thinking that the white-throated magpie-jay fits Hoke's description. This is an 18" bird, which is certainly into crow-size territory.
Wow, what a find if so!!!!
Edit: Oops, forgot to say that the WTMJ is the biggest blue jay shown.
2nd oops: I just realized that Hoke said "black head." My book doesn't show the NW Mexico race "black-throated magpie-jay," so this was probably of no help at all.
Hey Katy it appears we have the same Costa Rica bird guide... Stiles & Skutch, right?
Yep, we certainly do have the same book. THe WTMJ is indeed a big bird, but not as big as some other birds (mainly raptors and ostrich-like birds). I didn't realize how big a Belted Kingfisher was until I actually saw one. They're slightly smaller than a crow! The Ringed Kingfisher is the biggest in USA, and it's just one inch shy of being crow-sized.
Again, i'll agree with those who said magpie jay. On the other hand, I do have a Mexican guide...
There's another Jay that looks similar but is only 11inches long. THe white-throated Jay (or Omilteme jay)
EDIT to KATY: My mexico book shows the Black-throated form of the Magpie-Jay. but the BTMJ is OVER 2feet long. Since the BTMJ ranges from Southern Sonora to Jalisco, I wouldn't rule out the possibilty, but since the WTMJ is a bird living South of Colima, it's kind of hard to determine if this is really a WTMJ. Might also be an escapee.
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- #15
Gthang,
One thing that can rule out the WTMJ is that in the original post Hoke mention that the bird has a Black head and crest and the WTMJ has a white face. The only bird with black head and crest and crow size near that range is the BTMJ.
Alejandro
gthang
Ford Focus Fanatic: mmmmmm... 3.1415926535.....
- #16
BirdsPeru, Yeah, I realize your point, but when Hoke mentioned it looked almost exactly like a Blue Jay, I agreed with Katy, since the WTMJ had a black collar a la the Blue Jay. Even though Hoke is a newbie, he might have been better off saying that it looked almost exactly like a Steller's Jay.
- #18
Hoke said:
LOL! And you've totally exemplified another thread here at BF where the merits of capitalizing or not capitalizing birds' common names was discussed. Here in AZ we have three "blue jays" but none of them are *the* Blue Jay. At any rate, I'm glad you got your bird sorted out. Wish it'd fly over here, I'd love to see a BTMJ.
- #20
Hey, Bajamagpie,
Is the "Titanic" still there? I remember driving down to San Ignacio Lagoon the year before "Titanic" was released, and there was this HUGE cross-section of a ship being built in the marina there in Rosarito. Quite a sight to see from the highway!
Source: https://www.birdforum.net/threads/crow-sized-blue-jay.20962/
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