Blue Jay Feeding

A couple nice shots of a Blue Jay that visited my feeders this Winter.

The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird, and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. It belongs to the "blue", Canadian or American jays, which are, among the Corvidae, not closely related to other jays. It is adaptable, aggressive and omnivorous, and has been colonizing new habitats for many decades.

The Blue Jay measures 2230 cm (912 in) from bill to tail and weighs 70100 grams (2.473.53 oz), with a wingspan of 3443 cm (1317 in). There is a pronounced crest on the head, a crown of feathers, which may be raised or lowered according to the bird's mood. When excited or aggressive, the crest may be fully raised. When frightened, the crest bristles outwards, brushlike. When the bird is feeding among other jays or resting, the crest is flattened to the head.

Its plumage is lavender-blue to mid-blue in the crest, back, wings, and tail, and its face is white. The underside is off-white and the neck is collared with black which extends to the sides of the head. The wing primaries and tail are strongly barred with black, sky-blue and white. The bill, legs, and eyes are all black. Males and females are nearly identical except that males are slightly larger.

As with other blue-hued birds, the Blue Jay's coloration is not derived by pigments, but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers; if a blue feather is crushed, the blue disappears as the structure is destroyed. This is referred to as structural coloration.

Blue Jays have strong black bills used for cracking nuts, and acorns and for eating corn, grains and seeds, although they also eat insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. (Plus ...they are the 'chipmunk' of birds...sporting a throat pouch for extra food storage) ----- Thanks Seahue

Blue Jays can make a large variety of sounds, and individuals may vary perceptibly in their calling style. Like other corvids, they may learn to mimic human speech. Blue Jays can also copy the cries of local hawks so well that it is sometimes difficult to tell which it is. Their voice is typical of most jays in being varied, but the most commonly recognized sound is the alarm call, which is a loud, almost gull-like scream. There is also a high-pitched jayer-jayer call that increases in speed as the bird becomes more agitated.This particular call can be easily confused with the chick-a-dee's song because of the slow starting chick-ah-dee-ee. Blue Jays will use these calls to band together to mob potential predators such as hawks and drive them away from the jays' nests.

Blue Jays also have quiet, almost subliminal calls which they use among themselves in proximity. One of the most distinctive calls of this type is often referred to as the "rusty pump" owing to its squeaky resemblance to the sound of an old hand-operated water pump. The Blue Jay (and other corvids) are distinct from all other songbirds for using their call as a birdsong.

Wikipedia Info on Blue Jays:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Jay

Background Blue Jay Calls from Freesound.org:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=42382
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=57906

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Blue
• Jay
• Bird
• Feeding
• Nature
• Madison
• Ohio
• Lake
• County

[sxasher2]

This video is awesome. I really miss the Blue Jays in St. Louis, especially in the Winter when they contrast with the snow so beautifully. Here in California we have what I believe are called "Scrub Jays." They come into our backyard every day looking for peanuts. Thank you for sharing this beautiful video with us :-)

[MoviesMusicNature]

@sxasher2 Are Scrub Jays similar looking to Blue Jays? Thanks for stopping by and commenting :-)

[Cheerio753]

It's amazing how many beautiful birds come and visit your house! And you have a very good camera to film them! It is still snowing where you are???

[MoviesMusicNature]

@Cheerio753 No we have no snow here now and it is actually warming up quite nice here. I had this video around since Wintertime and finally got to it. I have another squirrel video also that was taken in the dead of Winter I will post this weekend sometime.. The Disney videos took over for awhile and these were on the backburner :-)

[lmmsl]

Oh dear Chris, What a beautiful special bird has visited you...Its an incredible sight with the pure white snow background..Amazing capture.. You have also given so much valuable info too.. I again watched your video with the Cardinal.. That was superb...Many Thanks...

[MoviesMusicNature]

@lmmsl Hi Menu, Glad you liked the Blue Jay :-) It is a nice looking bird but can be a trouble maker at times when in groups. Haven't seen them much around here since Winter but are back now in this area.. Thanks for stopping by and commenting..

[MoviesMusicNature]

@seahue Thanks for that info Seahue, I added it to the description. Yeah, he was very calm at this visit. The ones I'm getting now are very jumpy at the slightest movement. I have to be very careful moving around in the house so they don't fly away.

[seahue]

That blue jay was very calm and content....seemed to be happy surrounded by all those choices of food:D And to add to your description...they are the 'chipmunk' of birds...sporting a throat pouch for extra food storage:D

[MoviesMusicNature]

@nibornna They come and go here also and when I shot this video during Wintertime they were sporadic. Right now is a hot time for them here.. I don't know why but I have been getting a lot of them.. I live real close to Lake Erie also so that big body of water attracts birds also..

[nibornna]

that was cool ! i like blue jays, but i hardly see any around here anymore.