Species of the Month

Jays are colourful members of the crow family. If you are lucky to get a good view, you will see they have a pinkish brown body and a black tail. The wings are black and white with a panel of striking electric blue feathers. To top it off they have blue eyes, a black and white flecked crown and a black ‘biker’ moustache. You are most likely to hear the call of this shy, but noisy, woodland bird as it swoops up into trees flashing its bright white rump. 

Jays are crazy about nuts. In autumn they can be spotted hopping around on the ground gathering acorns in their mouths, sometimes up to nine at a time. These are cached away under leaves, in crevices or in the ground to be eaten during the winter. Research has shown these highly intelligent birds can store and retrieve, several thousand acorns, and those that don’t get found will germinate into saplings! 

Also on the menu are insects such as caterpillars and beetles, beech mast and fruit.  Jays will sometimes take the eggs and chicks of other birds and even catch small mammals. 

Jays mate for life and raise their single brood of chicks together. The untidy nest is a collection of twigs lined with roots, hairs and fibres, located at least 2m off the ground in trees and tall shrubs where it is well hidden.  

The female will lay about four to five smooth, glossy eggs, which are either pale blue-green or olive with buff-coloured speckles. The female incubates the eggs for 16 days and the chicks fledge at around 22 days old.  

• Being a colourful bird, the jay was once called ‘Britain’s Bird of Paradise’ by the eminent naturalist W.H. Hudson. 
• A jay can raise its crown feathers to a crest when excited or displaying – they have occasionally been mistaken for a hoopoe. 
• Like other crows, the jay was persecuted by gamekeepers for taking the eggs and young of game birds. Its brightly coloured feathers were also used for fly-fishing. 
• Due to their love of acorns, jays are credited for the spread of the oak forest which covered the UK after the last ice age. 

Jays are widespread across the UK, apart from northern Scotland, and are active throughout the year.  

They can be found in broadleaved woods but are also found in conifer woodland, scrub and urban areas such as parks and gardens which have got a lot of tree cover. 

Autumn is a good season for seeing jays, as they spend more time out in the open looking for food.  

Although not a regular sight in gardens, jays will visit feeding stations if there is a lot of tree coverage nearby. 

The good news is the UK population is currently stable. Although they are still persecuted and vulnerable to the loss of wooded habitats and poor acorn crops. 

Jays are shy birds and not common garden visitors but may be attracted by sunflower hearts left on the ground away from buildings and near trees. 

Protect jays and other wildlife – don’t use chemicals in the garden! 

If you have space, grow trees and shrubs to create safe nesting sites for this stunning member of the crow family.