And quite possibly my favorite jay, the ubiquitous Blue Jay of Eastern North America. Cyanocitta cristata makes frequent forays farther west, especially in mountainous areas, which it shares with the equally stunning Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri - the only other member of the genus.

Every morning I take a handful of peanuts out to the feeding tray and sing out to "my jays" - Come for peanuts jay jay blue jay, come for peanuts! And by the time I'm back inside and the door has closed behind me they've arrived and are gobbling up the peanuts.

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata, Mansfield, Connecticut

Jorge's bird for today is the Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris - always a pleasant surprise to find out on Mirror Lake on the UConn campus. There were a couple of females there today, hanging out with the Mallards and Canada Geese. The Aythya ducks are divers, not dabblers as are the Mallards, so when there were five ducks sitting and suddenly only four, we knew it was something different.

Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, Mansfield, Connecticut