Boreal Mischief

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches.

     This is an oil painting of a Canada Jay as seen in Sax-Zim Bog, MN, during a visit in January, 2022. These birds have several defining characteristics. I was struck by the number of nicknames this bird has. Whiskey Jack may be its most common nickname, a word derived from the Indigenous North American Cree word ‘Wisakedjak’ meaning “an adventurous and humorous trickster afforded prestige as a teacher to humankind. Wisakedjak is also rebellious.” (Robinson, 2018) Other nicknames include camp robber, moose bird, meat hawk, venison bird, and gorby. Gray Jay was its official name for a while, and I’ve heard that name used often. 

     Canada Jays live in cold climates and can be found in every Canadian province, and in higher elevations in the western United States, as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Maine, and New Hampshire. They are non-migratory, but occasionally irrupt southward. They will eat just about anything and cache their food on tree bark using sticky saliva. The food sacks are called boli. 

     Canada Jays have associated humans with food, and are known to nab picnic edibles when the opportunity arises. The sound of firearms may tip them off to a future meal of venison. “But the man who doesn’t enjoy being robbed by such a thief, had better stay at home and sit in the parlor.” (Pearson, 1917/1936) 

     Nesting occurs in the dead of winter, usually in February or March, and some studies have shown that warmer weather may contribute to their caches spoiling before they can use them, therefore contributing to lower breeding success. This bird is expected to shift its population northward, following the expected northbound retreat of the boreal forest.

Stay wild, my friends.

 

References

Axelson, G. (2018, January 8). Spoiler alert: Can Gray Jays survive warmer weather? All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/spoiler-alert-can-gray-jays-survive-warmer-weather/

Canada Jay, Life History, All about Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Jay/lifehistory

Caron, R. (2018, Dec. 4). Gray Jays: Souls of dead woodsmen. Adirondack Almanack. https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2018/12/gray-jays-souls-of-dead-woodsmen.html 

Cassidy, J., Scheffel, R., Visalli, G., Palmer, D. (Eds.). 1990. Reader's Digest Book of North American Birds. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

Kricher, J. (2020). Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

Hoff, M. (2020, Jan/Feb). Wild things in Winter: Animals use many different strategies for staying alive and well during the snowy season. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, 83(488), 57.

Pearson, T. G. (1936). Birds of America. Wise & Co. (Original work published 1917)

Robinson, A. (2018, April 5). Trickster. The Canadian Encyclopedia.  https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/trickster

Valentine, K. (2018, May 25). The Gray Jay will officially be called the Canada Jay again. Audubon.

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-gray-jay-will-officially-be-called-canada-jay-again