Siberian jay, Putorana Plateau, Siberia, Russia

© Sergey Gorshkov/Minden Pictures

Siberian jay, Putorana Plateau, Siberia, Russia

It may be cold outside, but this Siberian jay looks cozy in its feathers. Our wee friend was photographed in Siberia on the Putorana Plateau, a remote Arctic ecosystem that’s also home to the world’s largest herd of reindeer. Putorana translates as ‘the country of lakes with steep banks’ in the language of the Evenks, an indigenous people of the Russian Far North, and this region has more than 25,000 lakes to its name. This time of year, they’re more like ice rinks.