Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

First view, MooseWood Nature Center, Marquette, Michigan, 9 May 2015; the bird’s crest is nicely emphasized in this photo.

Another view, my yard, Crawfordsville, Indiana, 6 May 2007.

Another view, four jays, my yard, South McClellan, Marquette, Michigan, 18 May 2011.

Another view, my yard, South McClellan, Marquette, Michigan, 19 September 2010.

Another view, Shades State Park, Montgomery County, Indiana, 20 December 2006.

Jay

The blue jay’s cry goes up on stilts and takes

a few brisk strides through the mixed deciduous trees,

some of which rustle. It’s not their answer.

They reach out and catch

him as he lands on branch and branch,

then flutters and stops: this

is his domain, and he is king.

He wears a little crown and in

his heart there is murder,

i.e., breakfast. The stilts rise again

in him and he cries out.

—Ron Padgett