Blue jay

For other uses, see Blue jay (disambiguation).
"Jay bird" redirects here. For other uses, see Jay bird (disambiguation).

Blue jay
Temporal range: Piacenzian - present
In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanocitta
Species:
C. cristata
Binomial name
Cyanocitta cristata
Subspecies

4 sspp., see text

Approximate distribution map
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms

Corvus cristatus Linnaeus, 1758

The blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are also in Newfoundland, Canada; breeding populations are found across southern Canada. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common in residential areas. Its coloration is predominantly blue, with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest; it has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Males and females are similar in size and plumage, which does not vary throughout the year. Four subspecies have been recognized.

The blue jay feeds mainly on seeds and nuts, such as acorns, which it may hide to eat later;[2] soft fruits; arthropods; and occasionally small vertebrates. It typically gleans food from trees, shrubs, and the ground, and sometimes hawks insects from the air. Blue jays can be very aggressive to other birds; they sometimes raid nests and have even been found to have decapitated other birds.[3]

It builds an open cup nest in the branches of a tree; both sexes participate. The clutch may be two to seven eggs, which are blueish or light brown with darker brown spots. Young are altricial, and are brooded by the female for 8–12 days after hatching. They may stay with their parents for one to two months.

The name jay derives from the bird's noisy, garrulous nature and has been applied to other birds of the same family, which are also mostly gregarious.[4] Jays are also called jaybirds.[5]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Cyanocitta cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22705611A94027257. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705611A94027257.en. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "The blue jays are coming! Hide yo kids, hide yo nuts!". Seriously, Science?.
  3. ^ Little Known Fact: Blue Jays are Vicious Carnivores. pedaldrivenprogramming.com (Apr 15, 2008)
  4. ^ Coues, Elliot (1890). Key to North American birds (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Estes and Lauriat. p. 326. OCLC 469020022.
  5. ^ "jaybird – definition of jaybird by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". Retrieved April 20, 2011.