Blue jay

Cyanocitta cristata

1 photo in the gallery

Is it still called an ugly duckling stage in a blue jay? This scruffy adolescent was trying their best to get their nearby parent to feed them, but their parent wasn’t taking the bait. I love how you can just see the beginning tufts of that iconic blue jay crest coming through on this fledgling. I imagine it won’t be long before he or she is fully feathered out and screaming along with the adults.

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