The haunting cries of these wanderers evoke a variety of reactions from curiosity to wonder.

Highly social, the Pinyon jay epitomizes the dynamics of flock behavior such as colonial nesting, communal feeding of young and non-territoriality. Although Pinyon jays are nomadic and unpredictable, each flock is a tight-knit, integrated unit occupying a home range that does not overlap with other flocks. Flocks may wander widely outside their home range if sufficient food is not available.

The Pinyon jay is a permanent resident in juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands of central Oregon. Oregon's known breeding population is confined to the Metolius River drainage eastward along the south Ochoco Mountains, south through Bend and east of Newberry Crater to Silver Lake basin eastward to the Lost Forest in Lake County.

Hear the call of the Pinyon jay

Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW