100 More Species #31: Blue jay

[urbpan]

Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata

Blue jays are loud colorful members of the crow family corvidae. Like crows they have strong family bonds, with offspring from one pair helping to raise the next years' chicks. Also like crows, blue jays are broadly omnivorous and bold, frequently making use of human-provided food sources. Being larger than most suburban songbirds, they can dominate birdfeeders, filling their crop with seeds and caching them away; a family of jays can empty a feeder in a short time. Blue jays in the north east and north west have crests, while those in other parts of the continent are smooth-headed.

Jays are vocal mimics, imitating red-tailed hawks most often in my experience. They are noisy sentinels, alerting any species that can hear to the presence of predators, and aggressively driving away threats occasionally. They can also be nest predators, feeding the eggs and chicks of other songbirds. Our neighborhood jays run the place like a mafia, nesting across the street and getting their beaks into every operation nearby. The ones pictured here noticed a bowl of food for the puppy and then got wise to a human's sloppy potato chip eating habits.

Comments

[by-steph.livejournal.com]

Hmm, the blue jays in Texas and in the Midwest have crests too. The scrub jay has a smooth head....

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. I see that the bluejay range is further west and south than I thought. Makes it all the way to the gulf of mexico by the petersons guide, and north into the prairie states.

(Don't be shy about telling me I'm wrong when I'm wrong!)