[If you do not live in Idaho, please read on past the initial area-specific
comments.]

I stated that Cyanocitta stelleri annectens is found s. to northern Idaho
(Greene, E., W. Davison, and V. R. Muehter. 1998. Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta
stelleri). In The Birds of North America, No. 343 (A. Poole and F. Gill,
eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA). According to
Thomas D. Burliegh, Birds of Idaho (1972), and more current field
observation, this subspecies is found throughout the montane areas of
southern Idaho also and is probably the only race normally resident in the
state. The most telling field mark to look for, especially at this time of
year when all birds of the year have finished molt into Basic I plumage
(which is also similar to the Definitive Basic plumage of all adults), is a
whitish area above the eye, but no white spot below the eye (this second
white area would be characteristic of the Rocky Mountain race, C. s.
macrolopha). Birds in Idaho or east that do not show any white in the ocular
area should be also be carefully noted, because they might possibly be of
the subspecies C. s. frontalis, usually found in the mountains of central
Oregon south.

Needless to say, the higher than usual numbers of Steller's Jay being
reported by various observers in coastal areas of Oregon and Washington,
where the nominate Cyanocitta stelleri stelleri is resident should also be
carefully scrutinized for recognizable field marks of subspecies from
further east (see
http://www.idahobirds.net/identification/identification.html ).

Note: If you live and especially if you have taken photos in central or
coastal Oregon, Washington, or on the Queen Charlotte Is. archipelago of
British Columbia, or in any other area in the Pacific Northwest or montane
Great Basin where Steller's Jay occurs normally, would you please take a
moment and send me your best shots of birds normally resident (spring or
summer is ideal, but any time of the year would be good also, noting the
dates and locality where the photo was taken) or of birds seen at feeders
and elsewhere this Fall where they do not normally occur. I will try to put
together both a photo gallery of the 5 subspecies found in our regions and
an article detailing distribution and identification, with a special
emphasis on post-breeding dispersal, specifically utilizing data from this
Fall. Please note that Steller's Jay systematics are not clearly defined
and often poorly understood, with the subspecies being clinal and known to
intergrade and overlap. Browning provides the most recent treatment of the
systematics of the species (M. R. Browning 1993. Taxonomy of the
blue-crested group of Cyanocitta stelleri (Steller's Jay) with a description
of a new subspecies. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club 113: 34-41).

Harry Krueger
Boise, ID
208-407-2786
hkrueger at cableone.net