Steller's Jay

In my mind's eye I am quite familiar with the Steller's jay. Particularly when we first moved to Southern California and drove into the mountains I recall seeing them on hikes and near campgrounds. However, when it comes to photos and identifications on iNaturalist, I've only seen three: one in 2000 somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains (a horrible photo from far away); one in December 2024 near Oak Glen in the San Bernardino Mountains (a horrible blurry photo); and one in June 2025 near the Chilao Visitor Center in the San Gabriel Mountains (by far the best photos). 

There are 16 to 17 subspecies which are separated into two groups: the northern group which has a long black crest and the southern group with a short blue crest. From there, the subspecies vary by the extent of black on the head, the color and extent of streaks on the forehead, presence and extent or absence of pale markings around the eye, the color of the throat and so on. I am a little perplexed that the subspecies found in Southern California is not specifically identified in the sources I'm looking at. Birds of the World has a coastal grouping which consists of: (a) C. s. stelleri, which gets as far south as northwestern California; (b) C. s. carlottae, which is found in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia; (c) C. s. frontalis found from central Oregon through the mountains of eastern California and west-central Nevada; and (d) C. s. carbonacea found from coastal central California south to Monterey County. Nowhere is Southern California identified. Birds of the World also identifies a southwest interior grouping which includes C. s. macrolopha found in the southern Rocky Mountains from Nevada east to western South Dakota and south to northern Sonora and Chihauhua. I just don't see how Southern California fits into that grouping. All About Birds refers to a coastal version found along the Pacific Coast which has blue streaks on the front of the crest and an interior version found in western evergreen forests which has white streaks on the front of the crest. That is probably the most helpful piece of information for me as my photo of the Steller's jay in the San Gabriel Mountains has a blue streak on the front of the crest. So apparently I am seeing a coastal version. 

This range map from Birds of the World clearly shows populations in the Southern California mountains away from the coast. 

C. s. carbonacea appears to be the most likely subspecies in Southern California. It is similar to C. s. stelleri, but paler overall and forehead streaks more extensive. Stelleri is identified as dark blue-black head, black crest, small light blue streaks on the forehead, lacking white eyearcs, pale throat streaked gray, neck and mantel dark blue-black, wing coverts blue with faint darker barring. An illustration of C. s. stelleri from Birds of the World follows:

Following are my photos:

This and the next few photos were taken in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles near the Chilao Visitors Center. It appears to be a pretty good fit with the illustration, but lacks the neck streaking and does not have as extensive forehead streaking. 

This and the next photo were taken near Oak Glen in the San Bernardino Mountains. 

 

Band-Tailed Pigeon

The band-tailed pigeon has at least eight subspecies and some authorities split the species into two species: the northern band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas  fasciata) and the southern band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas albilinea). It is the closest living relative of the extinct passenger pigeon and has been considered for use in efforts to bring the passenger pigeon back. The subspecies P. f. monilis, which I have seen, breeds in British Columbia south into southern California. It winters in central California southward. The subspecies P. f. fasciata breeds in the mountains from north central Colorado, central Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas south through Mexico into north-central Nicaragua. The northernmost populations are migratory and winter from southern Arizona and New Mexico southward, moving to lower elevations. It can be found up to 12,000 feet in elevation in oak, pine-oak and coniferous forests. 

Range map of the band-tailed pigeon from Birds of the World. 

It has gray plumage, a little darker above, and the head and underparts have a faint pink cast. The belly is almost white. The bill and feet are yellow and adults have green iridescence on the back of the neck next to a thin white collar on the nape. Fasciata, the inland subspecies in the U.S., is paler and less richly colored (less reddish or purple), especially on the breast. 

This illustration is of P. f. fasciata, the inland U.S. subspecies, from Birds of the World. P. f. monilis, the bird I've seen, is larger and a little more colorful. 

I've seen it very occasionally, that is about every five years or so, but never in great numbers. I've seen it in our backyard in Redlands a few times and in the mountains a few times. 

The first three photos are from our yard in Redlands, California.

These last three photos are from June 2025 near the Chilao Visitor Center in the San Gabriel Mountains at an elevation of about 5,280 feet. 

Northern Flicker

I did a post on the western red-shafted flicker on November 28, 2019. In the post I noted that red-shafted flickers and yellow-shafted flickers, originally separate species, were combined into one species, the northern flicker because the interbreed where their ranges overlap. Yellow-shafted populations are found in far northern and eastern North America and some of the Caribbean. The subspecies in that grouping are: (a): the southern yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. auratus) found in the southeastern U.S. from Florida to Virginia;  (b) the northern yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. luteus) from central Alaska through most of Canada to southern Labrador, Newfoundland and the northeastern U.S.; (c) the Cuban yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. chrysocaulosus) found in Cuba; and (d) the Grand Cayman yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. gundlachi) found on Grand Cayman. The red-shafted populations are found in western North America south to mainland Mexico. The subspecies in that grouping are: (a) the western red-shafted flicker (C. a. cafer) found in western North America which is red under the tail and underwings and has red shafts on its primaries, as well as a beige cap and a gray face; (b) the coastal red-shafted flicker (C. a. collaris) found along much of the west coast of North America from British Columbia to northwestern Mexico; (c) the dwarf red-shafted flicker (C. a. nanus) found in western Texas south to northeastern Mexico; and (d) the Guatemalan red-shafted flicker (C. a. mexicanoides) found from in the highlands of southern Mexico and Central America and is considered by some authorities to be a separate species, the Guatemalan flicker. 

I'm putting illustrations of western and coastal red-shafted flickers up to see, if by chance, I may have seen a coastal (I believe mine have all been westerns). 

Western red-shafted flicker (cafer) male, from Birds of the World. Below is a female. 

Coastal red-shafted flicker (collaris) from Birds of the World, a female below. 

I don't really see a difference. Below are some of my photos since my previous post. 

A female in the San Gabriel Mountains. 

A male in the San Gabriel Mountains. 

A male in the Mojave Narrows near Apple Valley. 

A male in Live Oak Canyon in Redlands. 

A male in Big Morongo Reserve. 

Another male in Big Morongo Reserve. 

White-Headed Woodpecker

Our son, Sam, has gotten into woodpeckers recently and discovered that we have white-headed woodpeckers in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles. I recall seeing a white-headed woodpecker at Camp Chawanakee, near Shaver Lake in the Sierras, many years ago when helping supervise a group of Boy Scouts going to summer camp there. Sam found some near the Chilao Visitor Center and I went up there today to see if I could find and photograph some. I saw three, one that I was unable to get a good photograph of and a male and a female that appeared to be together. 

They are found in the pine forests of western North America and are non-migratory. Both males and females have black bodies and white heads and white primary feathers that show in flight. Males have a red spot on the back of the head. There are two subspecies and we have the non-nominate subspecies in our mountains that have a longer bill and tail. The longer bill is an adaptation to help them get acorns out of the very large Coulter pinecones found in the Southern California mountains.  

Range of the white-head woodpecker from Birds of the World. 

I was able to attract the woodpeckers and other birds by turning on a small water spigot which they came to for water on a very warm day. An illustration of a male follows, from Birds of the World. The female is the same, but lacks the red spot on the back of the head.

Following are some of the photos I took today:

The female which I photographed on a tree and at the tap. 

The male which I was only able to photograph at the tap. 

Yellow-Breasted Chat

I did a post on the yellow-breasted chat on May 5, 2025. It was only one decent photo of the bird I'd seen for the first time in Big Morongo Nature Preserve. Yesterday I was out at Big Morongo again, with my son, Sam, on a very warm day in the early evening. 

A yellow-breasted chat visited the bird feeders two different times, I'm assuming it was the same bird both times, and it may be the same bird I saw over a month ago. I got lots of photos, some in a tree, some on the ground and some on feeders (which I did not keep). 

My photos follow:

This and the next photos particularly show the orange in the yellow that is characteristic of the western subspecies.