Birds · Passeriformes · Corvidae

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The blue jay is a striking corvid of eastern North America, deep blue above and white below, with a black collar and an erectile crest. It is noisy, intelligent and notably opportunistic. It buries acorns by the thousand every autumn, and those it forgets germinate: it is credited with an important role in the northward spread of oaks after the last glaciation.

Weight

70 g – 100 g

Size

22 cm – 30 cm

Lifespan

17 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestOmnivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Temperate forest

3countries 38parks12same family

Fun facts

inteligenciaIt mimics the calls of raptors such as the red-tailed hawk with great accuracy, possibly to scare other birds off a food source.
Its blue does not exist as a pigment: the feathers contain brown melanin, and the colour comes from light scattering in internal microstructures. A crushed feather stops being blue and turns grey.
It imitates the cry of the red-tailed hawk to clear the bird feeders or to check whether a raptor is nearby.
A single jay is reckoned to be able to bury several thousand acorns in one autumn, and its ability to carry them for kilometres made it an engine of the spread of oak woods after the last glaciation.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Deciduous oak and beech woodland, parks and gardens of eastern North America
Size at birth: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 17 days
Litter / clutch size: 4

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanocitta_cristata