Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Blue Jays crack open seeds and nuts with strikes from their beak

Florida Native

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Class Aves

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Order Passeriformes

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Family Corvidae

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Florida Native ~ Class Aves ~ Order Passeriformes ~ Family Corvidae ~

An easily recognizable bird common in the eastern United States and southern Canada. Blue Jays are intelligent and adaptable. They are omnivorous and will eat a variety of food including seeds, fruit, insects, carrion, small rodents, and other bird’s eggs. They may visit backyard birdfeeders. Blue Jays are able to mimic the call of Red-Shouldered Hawks to frighten potential predators and to scare off other birds from a food source.

The blue of their feathers does not come from pigment; light refracts in the structure of the Jay’s feathers resulting in only blue light being seen. The feathers are actually black.

Sources

Blue Jay. (n.d.). Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/blue-jay

Tekiela, S. (2004). Birds of Florida Field Guide (2nd ed.). Adventure Publications.