The Blue Jay

A blue jay photographed in North Carolina. Read more... 

        A blue jay streaking through the treetops is a startling sight. It is a handsome bird, and its jaunty crest and black tie easily distinguish it from any other of our Midwestern birds. It's noisy screams make it conspicuous. Blue jays seem to enjoy congregating in the woods and ''yelping'' in a chorus at the tops of their voices. They delight in teasing other birds, and often a sleepy owl will fall victim to their tormenting.
       The blue jay has a reputation for being particularly intelligent. It imitates other birds calls and can sometimes be taught to talk. A jay occasionally becomes quite friendly and makes an entertaining pet; it displays such intense curiosity that it almost seems to think. The birds seem to act as sentinels for other animals of the forest, and their screaming will warn other creatures of any unusual visitor  or approaching enemy.
       In the Midwest region of the United States the blue jay is a permanent resident. This means that the birds that nest here in the summer remain during the winter.

       The blue jay seems to prefer nesting in coniferous trees, but it often uses the city shade trees. The nest is constructed of sticks and dead twigs and is lined with rootlets, feathers, leaves, or grass. The sticks used in building the nest are firm twigs broken from the trees. 

       Once the nest is finished and the eggs are laid, blue jays become models of silent devotion. The usually noisy bird slips silently among the branches. But let any stranger, either feathered or human, approach too closely and caution is thrown to the winds. Jays will attack cats, squirrels, or snakes. Even people are in danger of being struck by the wings, beak, and claws of the furious parent. Whatever may be the blue jay's reputation as a thief and a braggart, there is no criticism of its behavior as a parent. 

       After the young are able to fly, the family continues to stay together as a unit. They occasionally feed in the farmer's cornfield, and sometimes they feed on other birds eggs and other bird's young. 

       The exaggerated stories about its consumption of smaller birds have given the blue jay a bad name. Stray cats probably kill more young birds than do blue jays, and certainly man's destruction of forests and prairie lands increases the hazards of living for many of our native birds, far more than the presence of blue jays. 

       Three fourths of the blue jay's food is vegetable matter: nuts, small grain, fruit, and scraps of garbage about the house. A blue jay was once seen flying away with seven hazel nuts stuffed in its mouth. The jay, unlike most other birds, stores food for winter use. 

       Much good is accomplished by the blue jay in the destruction of large insects such as May beetles and hairy caterpillars. Few birds beside the blue jay consume the caterpillars of the tent, gypsy, browntail and sphinx moths. Pabst.

Fun historical facts about blue jays.