Hiatus

This blog will be undergoing a brief hiatus while we travel to Salzburg, Austria (Wednesday, October 18-Sunday, October 22) and to the Peak District (Tuesday, October 24-Thursday, October 26). This should give you plenty of time to catch up with reading the long-winded posts of the past week. Look for new posts after Friday, October 27.

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Meanwhile, I've added a new bird to the list of British birds I've successfully identified: the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius). I caught a glimpse of one perched on a Victorian tombstone in the St. Nicholas churchyard. The scientific species name, glandarius, comes from the Latin glans, glandis, meaning "acorn" (and also, interestingly, "penis"). Nut-eating Eurasian jays gather acorns and hide them for future consumption; of course, some of the hidden acorns are never found, and end up becoming oak trees.