A Steller sight

A pair of Steller's Jays spent time hunting insects ion the bark of Ponderosa pines East of Hooper park on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Roger Dey

A Steller's Jay perches on a limb.

Steller's Jays are common in the forests of the western US, including Montana. Unlike the mountain bluebird, which spends its time in open fields, the jays can be a bit harder to spot as as their dark blue and black coloring allow them to blend into the shadows of the trees in which they roost. Although they often referred to as blue jays, According to the Flathead Audubon Society, Steller's Jays differ from their eastern counterparts, the Blue Jays, which have white plumage on their throats, chests and bellies.

Roger Dey

A Steller's Jay peeks a the base of the limb its sitting on in it's search for food.

The birds bear the name of the first European to record then, German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.