---
title: "Stellers gaai"
description: "Cyanocitta stelleri — Vogels. Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay (C."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/steller-s-jay
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Stellers gaai

> Cyanocitta stelleri — Vogels. Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay (C.

- Scientific name: *Cyanocitta stelleri*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `mountains` (Bergen)
- iNaturalist observations: 63026
- Wikidata: [Q838749](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q838749)
- iNaturalist taxon: [8234](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/8234)

## Names

- en: Steller's Jay
- de: Diademhäher
- es: Chara Copetona
- fr: Geai de Steller
- nl: Stellers gaai
- pt: Gaio-de-steller
- pl: Modrosójka czarnogłowa

## Countries with the most observations

US (48882), CA (8570), MX (2030), GT (137), HN (103), SV (4)

## Summary

Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay (C. cristata) found in eastern North America. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains. It is also sometimes colloquially called a "blue jay" in the Pacific Northwest, but is distinct from the blue jay of eastern North America. The species inhabits pine-oak and coniferous forests.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_jay

## Photo

![Stellers gaai](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/steller-s-jay/medium.jpg)

Photo: Ben · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/382179130

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/steller-s-jay?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).