Steller’s jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), in Picture Canyon, Flagstaff, Arizona.
This sly bird kept flying ahead of me on the trail, stopping on branches a few yards ahead, and turning its head to watch my progress over its shoulder.
Note the white blaze on its forehead – a marking characteristic of Steller’s jays in the interior west, but missing on the coastal Pacific morph.
Steller’s jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), in Picture Canyon, Flagstaff, Arizona.
This sly bird kept flying ahead of me on the trail, stopping on branches a few yards ahead, and turning its head to watch my progress over its shoulder.
Note the white blaze on its forehead – a marking characteristic of Steller’s jays in the interior west, but missing on the coastal Pacific morph.
Flagstaff Natural: Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), developing cones.
Blue spruce occurs naturally in isolated spots on the Colorado plateau in northern Arizona. In town it is only seen as an ornamental.
Flagstaff Natural: Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), developing cones.
Blue spruce occurs naturally in isolated spots on the Colorado plateau in northern Arizona. In town it is only seen as an ornamental.
Flagstaff Natural: Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), barking an alert.
Flagstaff Natural: Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), striking a sentinel pose.
Flagstaff Natural: California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
Flagstaff Natural: Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), barking an alert.
Flagstaff Natural: Wooly locoweed (Astragalus mollissimus).
Bonus etymology: The genus name Astragalus is derived from a Greek word meaning ankle bone, possibly in reference to the shape of this vetch’s leaves or seed pods. Mollissimus means soft, referring to the dense hairs on its leaves and stems.
Flagstaff Natural: Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), striking a sentinel pose.
Dithyramb 