General: Blue Jays are a famous wild bird species with a reputation for mischievousness. They’re part of the Corvidae family and as such, are related to crows and ravens. Did you know that their blue markings are not the result of pigmentation? Instead, the color comes from the way light refracts through the internal structure of their feathers. This so-called structural coloration is common in blue bird feathers. Another distinctive Blue Jay feature is its crest. An agitated Blue jay will ruffle up its crest, but when it feels calm and ready to feed it’ll let it rest flat against the top of its head.

Diet: Blue Jays enjoy a varied diet. They’ll feed from the ground, trees and bushes. Blue Jays will eat almost anything they can get their beaks on, but a diet of seeds and fruit is especially nutritious. Our Ultimate Variety and Dutch’s Deluxe are excellent picks if you want to attract Blue Jays. Super Sunflower provides shelled sunflowers they particularly enjoy due to how easy they are to eat. They’ll come to any feeder that looks like it’s protected from predators. Jays will often store food in their nests against lean times but if you keep a well-stocked bird feeder they prefer to just visit regularly. Even a well-fed Blue Jay will take bigger and harder seeds away to eat in private, but don’t worry — they’ll be back soon. If you don’t want them to go, try bird foods with hulled (shelled) seeds.

Environment: Blue Jays are slow in the air, so they like to fly under light cover to avoid predatory birds. They don’t like thick woods though, and they’ve adapted well to human backyards and parks. The species ranges across a huge territory that extends from Florida to Northern Ontario, Canada.

Behavior: Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and assertiveness. They’ve even been known to harass owls until they move away! In these situations, Jays work together to annoy the predator. They’re playful birds that are attracted to shiny objects; sometimes, they’ll even snatch them from human hands. Blue Jays use a wide variety of calls. Some of them call other Jays to help mob a predator. Others are simple squaks or quiet calls they use to talk to each other. Like other corvids, Blue Jays that spend time around humans can learn specific calls to beg for food — and a few have even been trained to mimic human speech.

Blue Jays are not picky about where they nest. When their mating season starts in mid-March they’ll claim any comfortable, safe place they can find. Blue Jays have a reputation for stealing other birds’ nests, but for the most part they only do this with abandoned ones; only a minority kicks eggs out of a busy nest to take up residence. Blue Jays mate in monogamous pairs; a pair usually stays together for life.