"The Blue Jay is one of North Americas most recognizable birds. Found

west of the Rockies from southern Canada to Florida, it has brilliant

blue plumage with a crested head that can reveal the mood

of the bird - fully raised to show excitement or aggression, bristled when afraid and flattened when relaxed.

Blue Jays are part of the crow family and are intelligent, aggressive birds.

They can learn to mimic human speech and the cries of a hawk.

They will chase away other birds from their nest and food sources.

And, they will even chase away hawks and owls which are their predators.

Blue Jays are omnivorous and use their black bills to eat seeds, nuts, corn, grain

and insects such as beetle, grasshoppers and caterpillars.

They prefer mixed woodlands, but can adapt well to human development.

Males and females look alike, but the male is a little larger.

They form lifelong monogamous pairs and they male will

feed the female when she is brooding the eggs.

 Mating Blue Jay couple building a nest are gathering material over two days. Both parents participate in gathering material and building the nest. They are very slow and picky about what they gather and appear to give the subject great deliberation. Notice especially on the first half of the video that they each have different kinds of materials. They both give a barely audible contact chirp while they gather and are very careful about revealing the location of their nest. Typically flying a circuitous route back to the nesting site in case a predator is watching. They are extremely intelligent backyard birds.

 Why Blue Jays Are Blue - Mini Documentary

 Blue jays, as with other blue hued birds, don't really have blue feathers. Their feathers are actually brownish of gray in color. What makes them appear to be blue is the way that light interacts with the inner structure of their feathers.