The Blue Jay
What?
Description
The Blue Jay is a large song bird measuring 9 to 12 inches in length. It has a pronounced crest on its head. The crown of feathers can be raised or lowered according to the bird's mood. When excited or aggressive, the crest may be fully raised and when frightened, the crest bristles outward.The Blue Jay is bright blue on top and white to gray on its throat, chest and belly. It has black and white bars on its wings and tail. The bill, legs and feet are black and a black "necklace" on its lower throat. Juveniles are similar to adults except the blue areas are grayer and the black has a brown tinge.
Like other corvids, some Blue Jays can be taught to mimic a human speech.
Range and Habitat
Blue Jays prefer deciduous, mixed forests, and woodlands. They are common in urban and suburban areas especially where large oaks are predominant.Throughout the summer Blue Jays can be found from southern Canada, down the eastern half of the United States to the Gulf Coast. There are small, pockets of Blue Jays as far west as Washington State.
They are partially migratory with some migrating and others not. Some Blue Jays migrate one year and not the next.
The Blue Jay
Nesting Habits
Blue Jays nest in trees and shrubs. The female builds a nest of sticks and twigs. It's lined with grass. The female lays four to six bluish eggs with brownish spots. The eggs are predominately incubated by the female, but both the male and female feed the chicks. The Blue Jay is an aggressive bird. They will drive smaller birds away from birdfeeders and claim them as their own.
Diet
Blue Jays are omnivorous. They eat fruit, acorns, seeds, nuts, even mice and frogs. They have even been known to raid the nests of other birds eating the eggs and their young.When feeding at birdfeeders, Blue Jays are a backyard bullies. They chase the smaller birds away until they've had their fill. Blue Jays cache seeds and acorns to eat later, but often forget where they buried them. They do a wonderful job of spreading seeds and planting a new crop of trees.
Avant Garden Cottage Feeder
Avant Garden 8501-3 Cottage Lantern Bird Feeder
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I love watching the birds in my backyard, and nothing attracts the birds better than a birdfeeder. The Avant Garden Cottage Lantern Feeder is an excellent choice.
Song
The Blue Jay is a very vocal bird. They make a number of different calls including its distinctive jay-jay. It growls when it's irritated, and chatters when its not. The Blue Jay has whistles and gurgling sounds in its repertoire as well.Listen to the song of the Blue Jay: Sound Byte: Blue Jay, National Park Service
Common Birds and Their Songs
Common Birds and Their Songs (Book and Audio CD)
Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 07/11/2009)
This book-audio package provides a unique introduction to fifty of the most familiar birds of North America and the songs they sing. Each bird is described in vivid detail - its natural history, habitat, voice, range, and field marks - and illustrated in stunning color photographs. Range maps show where each species is found in different seasons. Common Birds and Their Songs will be valuable to anyone interested in birds, from beginner to expert.
The Blue Jay will use calls to round up help when potential predators such as hawks are lurking near nesting sites. They will then ban together and drive the predator away.
Behavior
The Blue Jay is both aggressive and territorial. Group of Blue Jays will attack intruders and predators that move into their territory.If the weather is mild and the food plentiful, Blue Jays may winter over in their breeding grounds. But when they do migrate, they form loose flocks of 5 to 250 traveling only during daylight hours.
Attracting Birds to Your Yard
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America's 100 Most Wanted Bird
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
Amazon Price: (as of 07/11/2009)
If you want to see a gyrfalcon or a fork-tailed flycatcher, this resource might be your best help in spotting them. Mostly for serious birders intent on adding species to their life lists, America's 100 Most Wanted Birds provides detailed strategies for locating 100 of the most uncommon-to-rare bird species in the United States.
Some of my Favorite Backyard Birds
The Bold and BeautifulThe American Goldfinch
The Blue Jay
The Northern Cardinal
Cheerful Singers
The European Starling
The Northern Mockingbird
The American Robin
The Shy Ones The Eastern Bluebird
The Carolina Wren
Seen any interesting birds lately?
marsha32 wrote...
You visited my blujay so I came to see your Blue Jays. I just love your bird lenses and ll the photos that you include with each one.
Posted December 09, 2008
Serenity_Prayer_Gifts wrote...
Beautiful Lens! Great Info, Nice Resources! :-)
Posted November 28, 2008
About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen, aka Lizzy Jean, has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 3,690 lenses, favorited 454, and has created 169 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "The Mallard Duck". See all my lenses
Why Birds Do That
Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed
Amazon Price: $12.44 (as of 07/11/2009)
Birds are fascinating. Their behavior is complex, often comical. Some sing while others do not. Why Birds Do That explains forty distinctive bird behaviors and is enhanced with numerous photographs. It is a must have book for both the backyard bird watcher as well as the avid birder.
Resources used to build this page.
Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.
Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
Seattle Audubon Society
Blue Jay-Cyanocitta cristata, Nature Works
Blue Jay, Hinterland Who's Who
by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
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