The word “popinjay” describes a strutting supercilious person but it is also a sport from the 15th century that is played to this day in some parts of the world. The object of popinjay is to knock artificial birds off their perches with arrows. When I saw this Blue Jay in the Gray Alder with snow flurries in Sax-Zim Bog a week or so ago, the word “popinjay” came to my mind not because the Jay seemed supercilious or that it looked like a setup for an archer but because the Blue Jay popped from the background—a “popping jay” if you will.