Stellar Jay sunning itself

This is the posting I had seen before.

I woke up this morning thinking about your Stellar Jay and it took awhile to find it, but I want it not only for the picture, but the information also. Thanks

It may have had a hard winter and wants that warmth again!

Really interesting detective work going on here. Thanks for Nictitating link... learn something new every day!!

Yes, Gale, that's the third eyelid aka nictitating membrane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nictitating_membrane Another reason why it could be anting -- not sure why it would protect its eyes if it were just sunning. The bill being open, though, does suggest that it is cooling off.

great photo - it almost looks like it is protecting something

Interesting discussion .... I've heard of anting I hope that is what this one is doing. Did you actually see it fly off eventually? Does it have a greyish covering over its eye, I know birds do have a protective lid. I'm also wondering about flying into window.

This could be a bird that is anting. Anting is really cool -- the bird lets ants crawl around its feathers, possibly to use the formic acid they produce to help get rid of parasites. I did a search on EOL for it and you can see (http://bit.ly/9Gk5Ug) that a number of different kinds of birds do it, including jays and crows. Or, it could be a bird that hit a window and got stunned -- then eventually was able to go on its way.

Your heart must have been beating incredibly fast when you first noticed it there. Awe inspiring!

what a great photograph!