Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Bill Rowe
The familiar, handsome Blue Jay is one of three corvids that normally occur in Missouri—corvids being crows and their relatives in the family Corvidae (our other two actually are crows). Wherever you go in North America, in whatever habitat, there is usually at least one kind of jay to liven up the woods; here, in the eastern deciduous forest (and our parks and suburbs) it is the Blue Jay. They will eat almost anything, including fruits, insects, seed at your feeder, and other birds’ eggs (as in Audubon’s painting), but they especially love acorns and other nuts. Why is the Blue Jay an appropriate Bird of the Week in September? Because, even though some are found here year-round, many of them do migrate, including many from farther north, and they can often be seen moving by day, in loose flocks just above the treetops. By keeping careful track on certain strong-migration days in September and October, people have counted up to hundreds of jays in a couple of hours. Otherwise, a few jays are always around somewhere in the trees; they may be stealthy and quiet if they choose to be, or they may make a racket with their loud, varied calls, especially if they have spotted something suspicious in their neighborhood, like a hawk, an owl, a cat—or perhaps you.
IDENTIFICATION: This is no problem. Blue Jays are one of the relatively few birds that always look basically the same—no significant differences by gender, age, or season. The crest, the black frame to a white face and throat, and the multi-shaded blue of the crown, back, wings, and tail should leave no doubt. They are often easy to identify by sound, too, if they are making the typical “ja-a-y” call; but their repertoire is large, and sometimes you just have to track down the sound to see if perhaps a jay made it.
ST. LOUIS STATUS: Common permanent resident. If you visit other parts of the country, from the north woods to Florida to California, you’ll have up to eight other jay species to look for.
Learn more and listen to the harsh calls of Blue Jays here.
