Clark's Nutcracker
Clark's Nutcracker: Medium, noisy and inquisitive jay with pale gray head and body. Black bill is long and stout. Wings are black with white patches and tail is black with white edges. Feeds on nuts, insects, eggs and young of other birds, lizards, carrion and small mammals. Steady deep wing beats.
● Song:
"caw", "kra-a-a"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Clark's Nutcracker: Feeds mostly on conifer seeds; also take flying insects, ants, small vertebrates, bird eggs and nestlings, and occasionally carrion. Uses its sturdy, pointed bill to pry seeds out of green cones, or to hammer and crush seeds out of shells.
● Breeding & nesting:
Clark's Nutcracker: Two to six pale green or olive eggs, marked with brown, olive or gray, are laid in a deep bowl nest made of sticks built in a conifer. Nest is well insulated, with outer part built from rotten wood pulp and inner bowl lined with finer material. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species:
Clark's Nutcracker: Gray Jay is slimmer, lacks white on wings, and has gray tail.