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Bird. Blue jays are actually gray but light refraction causes the light to bend into a blue wavelength. They are aggressive and will raid other birds' nests, steal eggs, young birds, and even the nests. They are omnivores and, when they hunt, they hunt more than they can eat. Blue jays catch ants and wipe them across their wing feathers in a behavior called “anting.” It is believed that the ant's formic acid may act as an antiseptic on the blue jay's skin. Blue jays can mimic the sound of other birds including the scream of a red-shouldered hawk. |
| Scientific
Name |
Lifespan |
| Cyanocitta cristata |
10-15 years |
| Diet |
| Omnivore. Favor acorns, beech nuts, fruits, seeds, and also eat grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and small vertebrates. |
| Predators and Threats |
| Hawks, and owls |
| Habitat |
| Mixed woodlands with oaks and beeches, evergreen forests, farmlands, groves and suburbs; across eastern North America, east of the Rockies. |
