Jay: reputation, food & pictures in the profile

What do female jays look like? How does the bird call and what does it eat? In our profile on the jay you will find everything you need to know about the breeding season, the food and the special features of the native bird.

The Jay (Garrulus glandarius) owes its name to its favorite food, the acorns. In late year he hides up to 5000 of the small nuts in the forest to stock up for the winter. However, despite his amazingly good memory, he does not find part of it again, which contributes to the spread of the trees. But it is not only good for the oaks, but also for the animals in the forest: warns of danger the jay, with its piercing call, not only his conspecifics, but also many others Animals. Because of this trait, he is also known as the guardian of the forest.

Jay: A detailed profile

size	About 35cm
Weight	About 170g
breeding season	April June
lifespan	About 15 years
habitat	Forests, parks, cemeteries, large gardens
feed preference	Acorns, berries, mice, eggs, insects, seeds
threats	dwindling habitat, birds of prey

How to recognize the jay

Due to its size and its striking plumage, the jay cannot be confused with any other native bird - and it is also a real beauty. It has a grey-brown, slightly reddish base colour, a black dotted crown and a strong beak, which reveals its affiliation with the crow family. On each side of the base of its beak, a wide, black stripe of beard stretches down to its throat. The dark elytra are decorated with a light field and a blue-black banded field - the latter is probably the bird's most striking feature. In flight you can clearly see the snow-white lower back - also called rump - which contrasts with the jet black tail feathers.

What does the call of the jay sound like?

Despite its colorful plumage, the jay can't hide its kinship to other corvids -- and its incoming, cheerful call gives it away first. This sounds like a loud ratchet and turns into a warning yell when there is danger. The other members of the genus have a similar reputation, which gave the small group its name. "Garrulus" comes from Latin and means something like "talkative". The jay does not have a real song in its repertoire.

You can listen to the jay's call below:

How do you recognize the young birds?

Young jays already look a lot like their parents. Their plumage is the same reddish brown color, the dark tail feathers and elytra are already closed recognize and even the blue wing field - by this special feature you can always identify the jay without a doubt detect.

How do you recognize jay eggs?

A medium-sized bird, the jay lays larger eggs than the average songbird. These measure about 31 x 23 millimeters and are embedded in a moss-lined nest made of twigs. The clutch consists of four to seven eggs, the basic color of which can vary between a greenish, bluish and sand-colored tone. Not infrequently, the eggs are also provided with fine brown speckles.

How do the males and females of the jay differ?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish between the sexes of the jay visually, because the females are just as colored as the male specimens.

What habitat do jays prefer?

The jay occurs in all types of forest – be it deciduous, coniferous or mixed forest. He prefers richly structured forests with high shrub layers. In contrast, it feels less at home in tidy forests and open landscapes. From time to time, the jay also occurs in human habitats, for example in forest-like parks or very large, wild gardens.

Where do they build their nest?

The nest of the jay is usually very well hidden and is preferably built in the tops of trees or tall bushes several meters high. Sometimes old nests are accepted by other corvids or even birds of prey. During nest building, the jay is very vigilant - as soon as it feels disturbed, it will abandon its nesting site and start over again in a different place. This is also one of the reasons why the birds rarely breed in domestic gardens.

When do jays breed?

The jay's breeding season runs from April to June. During this time, the parents only raise a single brood, which requires a lot of care. The young birds are outright nest stools, which are born naked and blind after about 16 days of incubation. They are therefore provided with food by both parents for a full 20 days in the nest and remain dependent on them for some time after fledging.

Where do jays spend the winter?

The jay is considered a partial migrant, which means that only some populations leave their breeding range and migrate south in winter. This mostly depends on the region and the conditions there. Our domestic animals are sedentary birds and therefore spend the winter in Germany.

Another special feature of the jay is that it stocks up on food as early as late in the year and is therefore well supplied even during the sparse winter months. To do this, he buries nuts, especially acorns, all over the forest, of which he finds a surprisingly large part.

Support Jay: Here's how

Even though the jay has developed a good system to provide itself with food in the winter, it could really use our help during the cold months. Because the stock of deciduous forests with a rich supply of acorns is negligible in many regions. Below you will find everything you need to know about correct feeding and other practical tips.

What do jays eat?

The diet of the jay is extremely varied. He is a real "omnivore" and uses both animal and vegetable food - from Insects, worms and spiders to mice and other small animals to berries, seeds, nuts and acorns of course. Occasionally, jays also become nest robbers, eating eggs or smaller nestlings.

A wide range of food can therefore be offered to the jay in winter: apples, raisins, tree seeds and nuts. Sunflower seeds and peanuts are particularly useful here, as they are also from other species such as the blue tit be used. Our Plantura sunflower seeds have the advantage that they come without a shell and can therefore be ingested by the birds without any additional effort. This also reduces waste at the bird feeder, in the garden or on the balcony.

Tip: Jays are quite cautious birds and therefore rarely come to free-standing bird feeders. It is therefore advisable to install a special feeding station, somewhat concealed, near the tree.

Which nest boxes are suitable for jays?

Since jays prefer to nest high up in treetops and are very sensitive to disturbances during nest building, they rarely colonize nest boxes. If you still want to try your luck, you should rely on spacious semi-hollow boxes and these on one Install in a quiet and sheltered place, for example in a densely overgrown and little-used place garden piece.

More information on the topic "Build your own nest box“ is available in our special article.

How can you give additional support to jays?

Like all birds, the jay is happy to have one in summer bird bath in the garden, which he quite regularly visits. If you also want to promote the natural food supply, you can do so via numerous bird friendly plants reach. So gives you about our Plantura beneficial insect magnet the opportunity to create a veritable paradise for insects and other garden animals, many of which are also part of the jay's diet.

Another eye-catching garden visitor whose voice can be heard from afar is the green woodpecker. You can find out how to clearly recognize this magnificent bird in our special article.