General Description: Steller's Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) are noisy blue birds with a black crest. The body and wings are blue, and the head, neck, and back are black, and there is a bit of a line (either white or blue) above the eyes and streaks above the bill (blue or white).

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Corvidae. There were 16 subspecies, but now only 3 with 2 around Las Vegas:

• Rocky Mountain form (Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha) of the Southern Great Basin and Southern Rocky Mountains with white on the forehead and white eye lines (Mt. Charleston).

• Coastal form (Cyanocitta stelleri stelleri) of Pacific Coast, Cascade, and Sierra Nevada Mountains with blue on the forehead and black eye lines (or perhaps no eye lines).

Favored Habitat: Around Las Vegas, higher-elevation mountains. Uncommon in the Yellow Pine and higher life zones on Mt. Charleston.

Where to Find: Around Las Vegas, look for Interior Steller's Jays in Kyle Canyon and other higher-elevation areas on Mt. Charleston, especially in campgrounds and picnic areas where they look for food scraps.

If you were a tasty bug or a little pine seed in Yosemite, this might be the last face you ever see!