5 things you might not know about the jay

3 min read
Jay, a colourful UK woodland and garden bird

The jay is the most colourful member of the crow family, and it is shyer than you would think. Here are five things about it that might surprise you.

1. Jays are great foresters

Each jay can bury more than a thousand acorns a year, and some are carried as far as 20 kilometres. Many are never found again, and they grow into oak trees, which is how jays became a main source of spread for European oak. They are credited with helping oaks move north after the last ice age.

2. Nobody is sure why they sound like a buzzard

Jays often sound so much like other species that you cannot tell which bird you are hearing unless you see it. They imitate the mew of a buzzard and the cackle of a goshawk, and one birdwatcher in Cambridgeshire heard jays at a nest hoot like a tawny owl while chasing off a carrion crow. The obvious idea is that it scares intruders, but the crow did not seem to be put off, and the observer suggested the jays might simply be trying out calls when stressed. It is not clear why they do it.

3. They take ant baths

To keep their feathers free of parasites, jays lie on anthills with their wings spread so that the ants spray formic acid over them. It is called anting.

4. Their blue is a trick of the light

The bright blue patch on the wing, finely barred with black, is not pigment. Like the blue tit and the kingfisher, a jay's blue comes from the structure of the feather.

5. They are devoted parents

Jays usually first breed at two years old and raise one brood a year, with three to six eggs. The parents keep feeding the young for six to eight weeks after fledging. The oldest recorded jay reached 16 years and 9 months.

A note on names

The jay's scientific name, Garrulus glandarius, means chattering, of acorns. There is very little folklore about the jay, though its habit of burying acorns has given it a quiet place in the history of our woods.

What jays like to eat, and where

Jays are shy, but they will visit a garden for an easy meal, and they are clever and strong enough to take from a feeder. Our Medusa Defender is designed to stop corvids, including jays, magpies and jackdaws, reaching your hanging feeders. Fill a Little Lantern seed feeder with our seasonal bird food for the smaller birds. If you are not sure which feeder suits your garden, our feeding quiz will point you in the right direction.

If you have room, plant plenty of oak trees, or let any oak seedlings in your garden grow. Jays have been doing exactly that across Britain for thousands of years, and the trees will feed and shelter far more than jays.

Want to keep track of the jays in your garden? Amidst the Birdsong: A Garden Birdwatcher's Journal is made for exactly that.

Want to read about more garden birds? See all the birds in this series.

While you're here

Because there's always something worth knowing about the birds in your garden.
Clare Cahill

Thank you for reading!

Clare Cahill is a bird enthusiast with a passion for observing and learning. While she definitely doesn’t have a formal degree in ornithology, Clare has dedicated hours to reading birding books and exploring nature, constantly expanding her knowledge and deepening her love for wildlife.

For Clare, birdwatching brings a sense of calm and connection to the world, offering a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. She believes that the more we connect with nature, the more we can do to protect and conserve it. Through her writing, Clare hopes to inspire others to take a moment to pause, look up, and appreciate the calm and connection that comes from letting a little wildness into our everyday lives.

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