Eurasian jays are the most colourful member of the UK corvid family. They are easy to identify from their bright blue wing patch and can often be seen in gardens in autumn caching nuts and acorns.
Breeding pairs: 170,000
Family: Crows, Jays, And Magpies
The adult jay has pinkish-brown upperparts and underparts, with a white rump, vent, and upper and undertail coverts. The upperwings have rufous lesser and median coverts, while the bright blue primary and outer coverts are finely barred with black. The rest of the upperwing is composed of black and dark grey feathers edged in white. The tail is entirely black.
Its crown is white, streaked with black, and the forehead, lores, chin, and throat are also white. There is a prominent black malar stripe, while the nape and sides of the head share the pinkish-brown tone of the body.
The jay has a strong black bill with pale rictal bristles, light blue eyes, and pinkish-brown legs and feet. Males and females are alike in appearance.
Juvenile jays are similar to adults, but their plumage is generally darker, they have a greyer bill, and the eyes and legs appear brighter.
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Jays begin breeding in April, and produce one brood per season. They form long-term pair bonds and are solitary nesters, selecting sites with plenty of vegetation and cover, such as deciduous woodland, as well as parks and gardens with mature trees.
Both the male and female take part in nest-building, creating a deep, cup-shaped structure from twigs, usually placed in the fork of a tree or the centre of a dense shrub. The nest is lined with soft plant material and hair for insulation.
Jays lay between 3 and 10 smooth, glossy eggs, which range in colour from pale blue-green to olive-brown, often speckled with buff markings. The female incubates the eggs alone for 16–17 days, during which the male provides food. Once hatched, the chicks are fed by both parents and fledge at around 19–20 days old. However, they continue to rely on their parents for a further 7–8 weeks, and reach sexual maturity between one and two years of age.
Jays eat acorns, beech mast, seeds berries and insects. They will also eat small rodents, bats, and baby birds and eggs.
Jays are known for hoarding food by burying it in the ground and will remember where hundreds of stashes have been hidden.
Jays are found all over the UK except in northern Scotland. They live in woodlands, parks and mature gardens all year round but are most obvious in the autumn when they fly out into the open in search of acorns.
Several species of oak tree are dependent on the presence of jays to distribute their acorns. They have been recorded carrying single acorns as far as 20 km, and are credited with the rapid northward spread of oaks following the last ice age.
