Northern Blue Jay Perching Birds Canada Postcard

This handsome Northern Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata bromia) is a frequent visitor at the bird feeder. His blue feathers are spangled with black and white. He's easy to identify. He's blue with a buff underside, has a long tail that spreads like a wedge when he flies, and a crest of feathers on his head, that he raises when curious or annoyed. It's early October and the Manitoba maple trees in the background are changing color to yellow. A couple of morning glories cling to a climbing vine. Blue jays are sociable birds, in that they like to hang out with other feathered friends. They can however be bullies. We solve this problem by hanging several feeders so other birds have a chance at the seeds! Blue jays are often found in a group of diverse birds including chickadees, nuthatches, house sparrows, woodpeckers and the odd cardinal. Blue jay, the largest of these birds, calls a piercing alarm when it sights a potental predator, such as a crow. However this doesn't stop Blue Jay from turning predator and raiding Crow's nest when the black corvid is away! Blue jays are related to crows, ravens, magpies, scrub jays and others. They are extremely intelligent birds and can reason out problems and even perform complex mathematical equations ... part of the reason is because a blue jay stores food in its crop, a separate compartment beside its throat. He manipulates the food (seeds, peanuts), putting some down and picking up others until his crop is most efficiently filled! This way the bird can carry off maximum treasure. Like their darker relatives the blue jay is font of sparkly things and sometimes buries them. He also buries a lot of the food which it appropriates from feeders, a habit shared with chickadees, nuthatches and some other birds - and of course, squirrels. Some blue jays migrate south during the winter, but others remain through the year as winter birds too, especially if they have a well-stocked bird feeder in the area. Blue jays can be friendly and lose their shyness quickly once they understand you mean them no harm. A blue jay has a vast vocabulary and can even learn to mimic human speech. Blue jays are native to south eastern Canada and the eastern United States. The Blue Jay is the official bird of the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. This original photo is by M Sylvia Chaume, Canada. Happy blessings!