Western Scrub-Jay in coral tree, March 2009.
Scrub Jay portrait, July 11 2008.
Meanwhile, this Steller's Jay was watching all the action from a nearby Ponderosa Pine. The Steller's in the interior West have white marks on their forehead, differentiating them from the ones closer to the Pacific coast.
Mexican Jays are pretty ubiquitous in the canyons of the Chiricahuas. Here's one at that same picnic area found at the end of the South Fork Cave Creek Road where is saw the Elegant Trogon.
A Scrub Jay finds a spiny delicacy. His stomach must be stronger than mine...
As I hiked along Yucca Ridge Trail around 7am, a group of Scrub Jays were checking out the desert vegetation for bugs and nuts, setting themselves against the high-desert background.
See photo in original gallery.