Tag Archives: jay

Jun 01 2022
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Return of the jay?

Tuesday 31st May 2022, 1.55pm (day 3,932)

Jay, 31/5/22

Jays are very handsome birds and it’s a shame we don’t see more of them. I could say that this specimen is the second jay to appear on the blog, but it may be the same one as depicted just under four years ago — as this photo was taken only around 100 yards from that one; both in close proximity to the Ellen Wilkinson building on campus (a.k.a. ‘the office’). I can’t spot any obvious differences in plumage, and I have a feeling that corvids like this can happily live for a decade or more, so I think I will declare this to be only the third bird — after two herons (Humph and Maris Crane) — that might have appeared on here more than once.

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Jun 12 2018
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Jay (on campus)

Tuesday 12th June 2018, 9.30am (day 2,483)

Jay, 12/6/18

A random bird shot yes, but point 1) — you really don’t see many jays, generally and point 2) you certainly don’t see many of them within 15 yards of Oxford Road, the A34, in the absolute midst of the UoM campus. Perhaps now and again we do something right.

And point 3). How did jays end up with quite such specific colouring? Who said, evolution-wise — OK, what you guys really need, to successfully reproduce, is that blue-and-white ‘policeman’s helmet’ style band? I’m sure evolution was the agent — really, I’m a Darwinist — but what drove it?

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