Today, I’m sharing backyard bird tips on facts about Blue Jays. Blue Jays can be found in urban as well as suburban areas. Most people are familiar with Blue Jays. They are rather large birds and can be easily identified by their beautiful blue, white and black feathers. Their call is distinctive as well. Some find Blue Jays to be aggressive. However, I’ve seen Robins double team a Blue Jay and not back down. Blue Jays are large compared to other birds. They are smaller than a crow, but larger than Robins.
Facts About Blue Jays
- Females and males look a lot like. They only way to distinguish one from the other is to observe their behavior. For example, who courts who or which Jay incubates the eggs etc.
- Jays prefer platform and hopper feeders.
- Resident jays associate in flocks. ( I have 6 that come to my feeders).
- Jays drink from bird baths.
- Blue Jays feathers are actually brown. The light causes humans to see blue.
- Related to crows.
- Jays are notorious for hiding acorns in the ground and not retrieving them. Oak trees are sprouting up across America.
- Known for being highly intelligent.
- Territorial around feeders and their nests. They will chase away birds, squirrels and other predators.
- Females incubate eggs for 17 – 21 days.
- Males retrieve food for the female during incubation of the eggs. Additionally, 8 – 12 days after eggs hatch they retrieve food for both mom and babies.
- Blue Jays mate between April and July.
- Blue Jays mate for life.
- Clutch size is 2 – 7 eggs.
- Blue Jay eggs are blue or light brown with speckles.
- They have 1 brood a year.
- Blue Jays will steal and eat other bird’s eggs. It’s rare, but it does happen.
- Jays mimic hawks to alert their flock of potential danger if one is around.
- The oldest Blue Jay was 26 years and 11 months. Sadly, it got caught in fishing gear was unable to untangle itself.
- Lifespan is 7 years.
Foods Blue Jays Love
- Peanuts
- Acorn
- Suet
- Cracked Corn
- Peanut Hearts
- Fruit
- Mealworms
I feed my Blue Jays unsalted roasted peanuts; and they devour them. Furthermore, my neighbor has an Oak tree. Blue Jays love acorns as much as they love peanuts. I have six Jays that visitor my feeder regularly. One comes to check out the feeder. It’s filled with treats, he calls to the flock and descend on the feeder until it’s empty. If the peanut feeder is empty, they let me know with their loud, distinct call.
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I hope you enjoy my facts about Blue Jays. Most importantly, I hope that you will attract them to your backyard and watch their interactions. Nature is amazing.
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