Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Any Upland Deciduous (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Mixed Northern Hardwood (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Mixed Pine (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Mixed Upland Hardwoods (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or Savanna
   containing:
      Mast

2nd alternative:
      (Jack Pine (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Red Pine (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (White Pine (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      (Mast and Deciduous Inclusions)

Habitat List:

view size class definitions

Literature:

Habitat: Blue Jays can be found in many wooded situations, including parks and residential areas. Of the 168 observations collected for the Atlas Habitat Survey, 79% were in forests, whereas only 7% were in residential areas. This indicated that, during the breeding season, forest habitats are more readily used; open woods and savannas are considered to be prime.

In the Habitat Survey, Blue Jays were most frequently recorded in dry deciduous forest (poplar-birch in Northern Michigan and oak or oak-hickory in southern Michigan), mesic deciduous forest (northern hardwoods or beech-maple), mesic mixed forest (northern hardwoods), and dry pine forest and conifer plantations. No selection among these types was evident but observations in mature forest outnumbered those in young forest communities two to one.

Habitat: Breeding: Coniferous, deciduous, and mixed (preferred) woodland representing a variety of forest types, wooded islands, farms, cities, suburbs, parks, and gardens. Prefers woodlands of oak, beech, and hickory. Wintering: Some northern birds move to more southern parts of breeding range.

Habitat: Oak and pine woods, suburban gardens, groves, towns. Breeds in deciduous or mixed woods, avoiding purely coniferous forests. May be in fairly low or scrubby forest in southern part of its range. Favors habitat with many oak or beech trees. Often common in well-wooded suburbs or city parks.

Diet: Omnivorous. Most of diet is vegetable matter (up to 75% of diet for year, higher percentage in winter), including acorns, beechnuts, and other nuts, many kinds of seeds, grain, berries, small fruits, sometimes cultivated fruits. Eats many insects, especially caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and others; also eats spiders, snails, bird's eggs, sometimes small rodents, frogs, baby birds, carrion, other items. Forages in trees and shrubs and on ground. Comes to feeders for seeds or suet. Will harvest acorns and store them in holes in ground.

Nest: Site is in tree (either coniferous or deciduous), placed in vertical crotch of trunk or at horizontal fork in limb well out from trunk; usually 8-30 feet above ground, sometimes 5-50 feet. Nest is a bulky open cup made of twigs, grass, weeds, bark strips, moss, sometimes held together with mud. Nest is lined with rootlets and other fine materials, often decorated with paper, rags, string, or other debris.