Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Summary

Blue Jays are found throughout eastern and central U.S. including Pennsylvania, extending into some regions of western U.S. and southern Canada. They are clever, bold, and gregarious birds with complex social structures, and while they are often considered bullies at birdfeeders, they are probably not as dominant over other bird species as people tend to believe. Blue Jays are partial migrants, which means that only some of their population migrates each year.

Learn more about Blue Jays here.

More Details

FAMILY

Corvidae (Crows and Jays)

IDENTIFICATION

Blue Jays are striking blue, black, and white birds with large blue crests that can be raised or lowered. They can make a wide variety of vocalizations and are frequently heard calling “Jay, jay!” or mimicking hawks, especially Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks.

HABITAT

Blue Jays are found in a variety of forest types, especially in open forests and forest edges, as well as in many urban and suburban habitats.

DIET

Omnivorous. The majority of the diet is plant matter like fruits and nuts, though they also consume insects, small animals, and occasionally eggs from other birds’ nests.

Ecosystem Connections

Bue Jays serve as both predator and prey in food webs. They also cache acorns and other nuts to eat later – because some of these seeds are never eaten and instead are left to germinate, Blue Jays are important dispersers of oaks and other tree species.

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