Species

Blue jay

Cyanocitta cristata

A bold, crested blue bird that plants oak forests, mimics hawks and warns the whole woods of danger.

Photo Darren Swim (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 22 to 30 cm long
Weight: About 70 to 100 g
Habitat: Woods, suburbs and parks, especially with oaks
Diet: Acorns, nuts, seeds, insects, fruit and occasionally eggs
In Georgia: Common resident statewide; migrants pass through in spring and autumn
Voice: A loud "jay-jay", bell-like notes, and imitations of hawks
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Blue crest and back; white face and underparts; black necklace; white patches in the wings and tail
Told apart from: Eastern bluebird, which is smaller with no crest and a rusty breast
Told apart from: Belted kingfisher, which has a huge bill and shaggy crest
Where to look: Oaks, feeders and woodland edges

Behaviour

Blue jays carry acorns in their throats and bury them for later, and many are never recovered. They mob hawks and owls and imitate the calls of red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks.

Why they matter

By burying thousands of acorns each autumn, blue jays are one of the main ways oak forests spread. They are intelligent and social, and their alarm calls warn many other animals of predators.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A cup of twigs, rootlets and mud in a tree
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 16 to 18 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Leaving the nest — At about 17 to 21 days, before they fly well
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

A young jay hopping on the ground is a fledgling; its parents are close by and will defend it loudly.
Jays may dive at people near their fledglings; keeping away for a week or two ends it.

Misconceptions

Blue jays are thieves and bullies. They take eggs occasionally, but mostly eat acorns and insects, and they plant a great many oaks.
Blue jays are blue. Their feathers contain no blue pigment; the colour comes from light scattering in the feather structure.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Flocks	Pairs forming	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Families	Families	Burying acorns; migrants passing	Burying acorns	Flocks	Flocks

Where it lives

Recorded in 51 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

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