Don't turn your back on this bird.

The origin of the Jayhawk is rooted in the historic struggles of Kansas settlers. The term "Jayhawk" was probably coined around 1848. Accounts of its use appeared from Illinois to Texas and in that year, a party of pioneers crossing what is now Nebraska, called themselves "The Jayhawkers of '49". The name combines two birds--the blue jay, a noisy, quarrelsome thing known to rob other nests, and the sparrow hawk, a quiet, stealthy hunter. The message here: Don't turn your back on this bird.

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