Nekk-ed as a jaybird

M.S. gave the sermon this afternoon at church and with her Southern accent said the word nekk-ed - which translates to naked.  Immediately the phrase "Naked as a Jaybird" popped into my memory.  Where exactly did that expression come from?

The expression is most used to describe being naked in a public setting and without embarrassment. So during the 1973-74 fad of streaking,  my college roommate sophomore year at Miami, had the courage to streak at dusk one fall day in South Quad.  He was naked as a jaybird.  Ray Steven's in his song "The Streak" warns Ethel not to look at that feller - nekked as a jaybird - nothing on but a smile.

How a jaybird is naked - I have no clue.  An internet search provide no definitive answer - theories about the word "jay" as slang for hick seemed the most plausible to me.  After all who else says nekk-ed.