- Cyanocitta cristata
Identification:
The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a North American jay, a bird with predominantly lavender-blue to mid-blue feathering from the top of the head to midway down the back. There is a pronounced crest on the head. The colour changes to black, sky-blue and white barring on the wing primaries and the tail. The bird has an off-white underside, with a black collar around the neck and sides of the head and a white face.
Habitat:
Chiefly oak forest, but now also city parks and suburban yards, especially where oak trees predominate.
Nesting:
4-6 brown-spotted greenish eggs in a coarsely built nest of sticks, lined with grass and well concealed in a crotch or forked branch of a tree, often a conifer.
Range:
Resident east of Rockies, from southern Canada to Gulf of Mexico. Slowly encroaching westward.
Voice:
A raucous jay-jay, harsh cries, and a rich variety of other calls. One is almost identical to the scream of the Red-shouldered Hawk. Also a musical queedle-queedle.
Discussion:
Although sometimes disliked because they chase smaller birds away from feeders, Blue Jays are among the handsomest of birds. They often bury seeds and acorns, and since many are never retrieved they are, in effect, tree planters. They regularly mob predators, and their raucous screaming makes it easy to locate a hawk or a roosting owl. Although seen all year, they are migratory and travel in large loose flocks in spring and fall. Birds from farther north replace local populations in winter.
Photo info
Photographed in Henryville, QC, Canada.
