Name: Blue Jay

Description: Blue Jays are take-charge birds: loud, pushy and bold, often going first at bird feeders. Blue Jays are also great imitators of other birds, especially Red-Tailed and Red-Shouldered Hawks. Originally an eastern bird, the Blue Jay has managed to spread west. Today, its breeding range extends across Canada and south to Florida and eastern Texas. In late summer and fall, Blue Jays travel in small flocks and family groups.

Other Names: Blue Coat, Corn Thief, Nest Robber

Color: The Blue Jay is easily identified by its crested head with blue upper parts, gray-white under parts, a black necklace and white spots on its wings and tail. Male and female Blue Jays look alike, although the female is slightly smaller.

Sound: Conspicuous and noisy, the Blue Jay makes a loud "jay, jay, jay" sound and is capable of making a wide variety of additional sounds, including squawks, rattles and whistles.

Preferred Environment: The Blue Jay prefers mixed woodlands with oaks and beeches, and in urban settings where it has become tame, the Blue Jay may choose to nest in a tall tree, often coniferous, or garden shrubbery.

Nesting Habits: Blue Jays build their nests bulky and strong, with a foundation of stout twigs, sticks, moss, lichens and grasses, lined with rootlets, feathers and thin strips of bark. Blue Jays raise one brood of young, but if something catastrophic happens, they will re-nest.

Food Preference: Blue Jays eat sunflower, safflower, cracked corn, shelled peanuts and suet.