Scrub Jay - Canada BC - Feb. 16 (1 Viewer)

[Indobirder]

Hi all,

The following Jay visited my place in Chilliwack this past Saturday. Scrub-Jays are rare in the area, and the expected ones would be California (seen somewhat regularly). However this doesn't look like a California, but rather much more like a Woodhouses's.

I posted on a local birding forum, and it is suggested that it's possibly a hybrid between Steller's and Woodhouses's. (there's a link to another thread about a local Jay that was supposed to be a hybrid) http://bcbirding.proboards.com/thread/11572/jay

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Indobirder]

Does anyone think it looks different than regular Woodhouses's? Or does it look like a hybrid of some sort?
If it had been seen in Utah I wonder whether anyone would question it being Woodhouses's.
I do have more pictures, but the above covers most everything (so let me know if you need me to post more )

Thanks!

 

[birdmeister]

Wow, an interesting bird!

Although I have very little experience with western jays, this bird certainly doesn't tick all the boxes of any of the three species mentioned in the OP.

The strong white throat seems wrong for Woodhouse's, but the underparts are wrong for California. I would say that the back fits Woodhouse's better, but to me it looks a bit too dark, especially on the face, for any normal scrub-jay.

Not sure what to make of this!