Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Photographer: Dave Menke

Length: 9.5-12 in.
Habitat: woodlands, farmlands, suburbs, city parks

This handsome, noisy bird is known for its raucous voice and the wide variety of its calls, cries, and screams. But like other jays, the Blue Jay also has a "whisper song," a series of faint whistles and soft, sweet notes delivered from a perch hidden in foliage. Blue Jays are omnivorous, feeding on (among other things) fruits, seeds, nuts, insects, birds' eggs, small birds, mice, treefrogs, snails, and even fish. In spring and fall these jays migrate in flocks that sometimes number in the hundreds.