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Blue Jay — photograph 1
📷 John Harrison at https://www.flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/ · CC BY-SA 3.0
IUCN: Least Concern

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassAves›OrderPasseriformes›FamilyCorvidae›GenusCyanocitta
About

Blue jays are bold, intelligent songbirds with a striking crest they raise when excited, and a wide repertoire including a hawk mimic used to scatter other birds from feeders. They cache thousands of acorns each fall, some forgotten and later sprouting into oaks, making them accidental forest planters. Highly social, they form tight family groups and mob predators together, and they have adapted well to suburbs.

Key Facts
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Habitat
Deciduous and mixed forest, parks, gardens, and feeders
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Diet
Omnivore — acorns, seeds, insects, and occasionally eggs
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Size & Weight
Body 22–30 cm; wingspan 34–43 cm
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weight
70–100 g
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Lifespan
About 7 years wild; up to 26 in care
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Range
Eastern and central United States and southern Canada, with range expanding westward
BirdSongbird
Photo Credits
#1John Harrison at https://www.flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/ · CC BY-SA 3.0
#2Photo by and (c)2009 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) · GFDL 1.2
#3John James Audubon · Public domain
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