Wat kind of bird might this be?

June 29, 2010 5:25 AM

Wat kind of bird could this be? I saw it in my garden twice now, location is The Netherlands. Sadly I didn't get to take more/better pics.
posted by Ms. Next to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

Best answer: It's a jay.

To misquote Bill Oddy* (or maybe Simon Barnes, I can't quite remember) 90% of unusual birds are jays.

*The shame
posted by Helga-woo at 5:34 AM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's a Jay. Great picture!
posted by Catseye at 5:34 AM on June 29, 2010

oh wow. I was going to say, it looks like a really weirdly colored Blue Jay.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 5:47 AM on June 29, 2010

Response by poster: Wow, within ten minutes, awesome! Thanks! I'll see if I can take more pictures next time it shows up. This one was actually taken through a window.
posted by Ms. Next at 5:49 AM on June 29, 2010

posted by ArgentCorvid at 5:47 AM on June 29 [+] [!]

Eponyawesome.
posted by Catseye at 5:59 AM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

It might be interesting to know, the Dutch naam is Vlaamse Gaai.
posted by HFSH at 6:11 AM on June 29, 2010

To misquote Bill Oddy*

Yeah that's Bill Oddie, I remember reading it in The Little Black Bird Book... it's always a Jay.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:13 AM on June 29, 2010

Response by poster: HFSH: Thanks, I saw that when I clicked on Catseye's link and then checked the Dutch version of that page. The name is so familiar that I feel ashamed of not having recognised it in the first place!
posted by Ms. Next at 7:14 AM on June 29, 2010

It's a member of the crow family, funnily enough.
posted by Deor at 8:22 AM on June 29, 2010