Another bird common in my home state of West Virginia is the Blue Jay. Blue Jays are beautiful birds that can be common in front of bird feeders or in yards. If you’re wanting to attract a blue jay to your yard, using meal worms, peanuts or bugs. They may get overpowered at the feeder, but they are expert mimics of predators and are highly intelligent so they will be able to adjust and still get their food.
What are some other fun facts about blue jays?
There are around 40 types of Jays and they are in the Corvidae family, and directly related to crows and magpies. Blue Jays are in one of the most intelligent species of birds, and when in captivity they have been seen creating tools out of what they have access to in order to get food.
Blue Jays do not have a set, predictable migration pattern. They migrate, but not always. On occasion, you’ll find blue jays in winter hitting up your bird feeder.
When it comes to age, most live to be up to around seven years old. Some of the oldest tend to be around 17, with the absolute oldest being just under 27.
The average blue jay is just under a foot long from head to the tip of it’s tail feathers
There aren’t major differences between males and females, males are a tiny bit bigger
The color is caused by melanin and the blue coloring is due to the lighting hitting the feathers, not the actual feathers, which are brown. The light trick is called “light scattering”
To attract blue jays to your yard, you’ll find it best to use:
- Tray or hopper feeders
- Peanuts or sunflower seeds
- Blue jays also like acorns
- They are omnivores, so you might catch them eating insects, small mice or frogs.
- You might also see them getting into other birds’ nests and eating eggs and baby birds.
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