The Cobalt Crow Cousin, the Blue Jay Borb!
By Jess C.
Do winter blues have you down? Fix your blues with a Blue Jay!
Wishing you could migrate down south for the winter like the birds? Well maybe think twice before you start packing your bags for Florida! While it is widely known that birds fly south for the winter to avoid the colder northern weather, there are a few feathered friends that actually stay put and brave the winter! Today we’ll look deeper at one type of those birds, Blue Jays!
Did you know, despite their name, blue jays are actually a shade of brown?
It’s true! While their feathers contain melanin, which causes a shade of brown, the light that reflects off of the cells in their feathers alters the color to show a lovely blue, and gives them their namesake!
Blue Jays are a member of the Corvid family, much like crows and ravens. But rather friendly birds, blue jays are not territorial and can often be seen feeding together in pairs or in smaller flocks.
Although, when provoked, they can still fight back! These birds have honed their own fighting techniques, barraging predators with dive bombs and loud, incessant calls. Seemingly immune to fear, these birds have been witnessed mobbing dogs, birds of prey, and even people! Watch your heads!
As monogamous birds, they form pairs to breed in Spring, and lay their eggs in May or June in nests composed of arborous materials typically in a “V” shape, tightly packing in twigs and leaves to keep it all together. They lay three to six tiny, olive-colored spotted eggs. The female blue jay will incubate for about 20 days, in which they hatch and will sometimes stay with their parents for up to two months!
All in all, these are some spectacular and hardy birds. Listen for their unique calls and yells during the colder months and you’re likely to hear a blue jay or two!
The Blue Jay: Their Borb Score
🔵🔵🔵🔵🔷🔷🔷🔷 4/8 on the Orb Scale! Round, Floofy Birb
And how do they fair on the Borb Score? They aren’t the most Borb-y birds around. While I’ve seen photos of some very orbular Blue Jays, they are typically Birbs.
