From Opus

Photo by KC Foggin
Photographed: Myrtle Beach SC

Cyanocitta cristata

[edit] Identification

• Predominantly lavender-blue to mid-blue feathering from the top of the head to midway down the back
• Pronounced crest
• Colour changes to black, sky-blue and white barring on the wing primaries and the tail
• Off-white underside
• Black collar around the neck and sides of the head
• White face.

[edit] Distribution

Eastern side of North America from northest Newfoundland to southest Florida, western Texas and Midwestern United States, and north to central Alberta. West of the Rockies, it is replaced by the closely related Steller's Jay. Blue Jay is slowly spreading westward.

Although this bird is generally found year-round through most of its range, some northern birds do move into the southern parts of the range. These birds migrate in the daytime.

[edit] Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognized.

[edit] Subspecies¹

• C. c. bromia - S Canada (Alberta to Quebec) to central US; some winter in se US
• C. c. cristata - Central eastern and southeastern US
• C. c. cyanoptera - SE Wyoming and Nebraska to w Kansas, Oklahoma and n Texas
• C. c. semplei - Southern Florida

[edit] Habitat

Chiefly oak forest, but now also city parks and suburban yards, especially where oak trees predominate. It is mainly a bird of mixed woodland, including American beech and various oak species.

[edit] Behaviour

Nesting: Both sexes build the nest and rear the young, though only the female broods them. There are usually 4-5 eggs laid and incubated over 16-18 days. The young are fledged usually between 17-21 days. Monogamous.

The diet includes acorns and beech mast, weed seeds, grain, fruits and other berries, peanuts, bread, meat, eggs and nestlings, small invertebrates of many types, scraps in town parks and bird-table food.

[edit] Vocalisation

• A raucous jay-jay *harsh cries, and a rich variety of other calls. *One is almost identical to the scream of the Red-shouldered Hawk. *queedle-queedle often referred to as the "rusty pump" owing to its squeaky resemblance to the sound of an old hand-operated water pump. *a high-pitched jayer-jayer call that increases in speed as the bird becomes more agitated.

The 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 Blue Jays will use these calls to band together to drive a predator such as a hawk away from their nest. Blue Jays also have quiet, almost subliminal calls which they use among themselves in proximity. In fact, they can make a large variety of sounds, and individuals may vary perceptibly in their calling style.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

[edit] External Links