Although consider attractive by many, the blue jay is loud and aggressive to the point it may chase other from bird feeders. Ralph LaPlant Photo

The blue jay is a bird that is common, if not too common, to those of us who have active bird feeders. John James Audubon, probably the world’s most famous ornithologist of the 1800s, found his distaste for the blue jay tempered by its grace and color.

Audubon once said, “the blue jay… is more tyrannical than brave, and like most boasters, dominates over the feeble, dreads the strong, and flies even from its equals. In many cases in fact, he is a downright coward… many (birds) although inferior in strength, never allow him to approach their nests with impunity; and the jay, to be even with them, creeps silently to it in their absence, and devours their eggs and young whenever he finds an opportunity. I have seen one go its round from one nest to another every day, and suck the newly laid eggs of the different kinds in the neighborhood, with as much regularity and composure as a physician would call on his patients.”

The blue jay, sometimes called “nest robber,” is a noisy bird whose song is described by the past century’s most famous ornithologist, Roger Tory Peterson, as jeeah, jay or queedle, queedle. For Peterson, the blue jay was the first bird he drew; he was 11 at the time. He describes the bird as showy and noisy.

The bird is larger than a robin, and has a head crest and a long wedge-shaped tail. Its color can be described as violet-blue with bold white spots on the wings and tail.

The behavior of the blue jay can be described as aggressive and active. At feeders it seems to bully other birds. It warns the wildlife community of intruders with its loud calls. It does not walk, but hops.

During the fall the birds will gather into large flocks that roam about and feed. The flocks divide into smaller ones over winter and by spring the birds become their loudest and most active.

When mating occurs later in spring, the birds are relatively quiet, becoming almost silent during nest building and incubation.


The nest is made of twigs and is ragged and bulky and is often eight to 20 feet above the ground. Incubation is by the female only and last 17 days. Three to six eggs, olive and blotched with brown, are laid.

The blue jay is an omnivore with about one-fourth of its diet animal material and the rest vegetable. They will, on occasion, store acorns by burying them. The blue jay is common throughout all of Minnesota and stay within its range throughout the year.