While you're tooling around the Lawrence area, you might come upon the unfamiliar mascot of the University of Kansas--the Jayhawk. So, what exactly is a jayhawk? According to legend, a man rode into town one day in 1856 and told another man he had been 'over in Missouri jay-hawking'. When asked what that meant, he said he knew of a bird that worried its prey before devouring it. This is the only known origin of the word. The jayhawk as it is known today is a raven-like bird that is blue. Blue and red are KU colors so you'll probably see the bird dressed in those colors.