Jay-Flying

(My 10-year-old cousin is visiting from the west coast. We’ve walked down the road to a little park with a playground, and she finds another kid to play with while I make small talk with a neighbor. My cousin finds a feather.)

Cousin: “Ooh, ooh! I know what this is! It’s a western blue jay!”

Me: “You mean an eastern blue jay.”

Cousin: “WESTERN.”

Me: “You’re in the Southeast now; you’ve got western blue jays at home, and here we have the eastern blue jay.”

Cousin: “NO! There’s only western blue jays, spotted jays, mockingjays…”

Neighbor: “Mockingjays aren’t real.”

Cousin: “I SAW THEM IN THE MOVIES!”

(I looked it up, and none of the birds she talked about are real, but she makes stuff up constantly so I’m not surprised.)