In the 1860s, James Swan, an early European resident of the Northwest Coast, lived among the Makah Indians. The Makahs told Swan this story about how the bird we know as the Steller’s Jay—the bird the Makahs call Kwish-kwishee—got its crest:
“The mink, Kwahtie was a great liar . . . very shrewd . . . [and] full of rascalities . . . . Once while Kwahtie was making an arrow, his mother directed him to get some water, but he refused until he should have finished his work. His mother told him to make haste, for she felt she was turning into a bird. While she was talking, she turned into a blue jay and flew into a bush. Kwahtie tried to shoot her, but his arrow passed behind her neck, glancing over the top of her head, ruffling up her feathers, as they have always remained.”
We should be heartened that Kwahtie’s aim was slightly off. Not only is his mother, the Steller’s Jay, still with us, but she will forever flaunt that rakish crest.
~Written by Bob Sundstrom~
What a beautiful picture. The Jays in wonderful focus and the rest is out of focus but you know it is more forest, but the attention of the picture is drawn to the bird.
@arthur2sheds@bigdad@rhoing@bkbinthecity@dbj_365@888rachel@linnypinny@harbie
Thank you so much for commenting on my photo of the Steller's Jay. This has to be the luckiest shot I've ever taken. It was up so high, that we could not see it. I zoomed in, but I couldn't find it in my viewfinder. I snapped a photo anyway and then looked at the display, but I couldn't see anything. It wasn't until I got it home on the computer that I found it and was amazed that it was so clear.
Perhaps he should have written a song about a swan?
Thank you so much for commenting on my photo of the Steller's Jay. This has to be the luckiest shot I've ever taken. It was up so high, that we could not see it. I zoomed in, but I couldn't find it in my viewfinder. I snapped a photo anyway and then looked at the display, but I couldn't see anything. It wasn't until I got it home on the computer that I found it and was amazed that it was so clear.