Hear a story about a blue jay.
Hear a blue jay.

from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

Most regions of the country have their resident "blue jay," but cristata is the species officially designated by that name. It ranges through Canada and the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and is the only jay species in much of that area. Several other blue-colored jays occur in the West, but only one, Steller's jay, shares the blue jay's handsome crest.

In Texas, the blue jay ranges through the northern and eastern portions of the state and the Panhandle, occurring westward to the Edwards Plateau and south to about Victoria. It may also wander farther south and west in the winter.

White patches and black-and-white barring ornament the blue jay's blue wings and tail, while a black necklace crosses the whitish breast. Washington Irving described it as "That noisy coxcomb, in his gay light blue coat and white underclothes," while 19th century ornithologist Charles Bendire was more fascinated by its ever-changing personality: "Cunning, inquisitive, an admirable mimic, full of mischief; in some localities extremely shy, in others exactly the reverse, it is difficult to paint him in his true colors.

Blue jays roam woodlands, parks and towns in search of a variety of foods. One study found their summer diet to contain 30 percent insects and other invertebrates, as well as some small vertebrates; the other 70 percent was made up of acorns, fruits and seeds. Jays are also notorious nest-robbers and will devour small birds and suck the eggs of other species.

The blue jay's nest is a bowl of twigs and dry leaves high in a tree; the three to five eggs are blue or greenish spotted with brown. They hatch after 16 to 18 days of incubation by the female and the young fledge in 17 to 21 days more. It has a piercing call...jay, jay, jay...once described by Thoreau as the "unrelenting steel-cold scream of the jay, unmelted, that never flows into a song, a sort of wintry trumpet..."

Other blue-colored jays found in Texas

Steller's jay is the only western jay species with a crest.
© Photo by John L. Tveten

Steller's Jay

Steller's jay, the western counterpart of the blue jay, is a resident of the coniferous forests and pine-oak woodlands from southern Alaska south through the higher elevations of the United States and Mexico to Nicaragua. In Texas, it breeds in the Guadalupe and Davis mountains, mainly about 6,000 feet. Like the eastern blue jay, Steller's jay has an erect crest, but its overall color is a deeper blue, and it lacks the white markings on the wings and tail. The crest, throat and upper breast are black. It was named for German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who accompanied Vitus Bering on his 1740 expedition to Alaska.

Found throughout much of western and central Texas, the scrub jay lacks the crest of the blue and Steller's jays.
© Photo by John L. Tveten

Scrub Jay

The scrub jay inhabits scrub oak and pinyon-juniper woodlands and wanders widely into towns and suburbs. Blue above and pale gray below, the scrub jay has a gray-brown patch on the back. Unlike the eastern blue jay and the Steller's jay, it does not have a crest. It is a year-round resident of western Texas, ranging from the Guadalupe and Davis mountains across much of the Edwards Plateau.

Excerpts from The Birds of Texas by John L. Tveten with permission from Shearer Publishing, Inc.

More Bird Facts Blue jays are one of seven jay species that range in Texas. Blue jays are around 10 inches in length. Males and females basically look the same. They are very curious and intelligent birds. Blue jays are noisy and aggressive, and have been known to attacks cats and humans. Look for blue jays in parks, woodlands and suburbs.

Hear Interviews with Experts Jays in Texas Learn about another jay species: The Green Jay - Our May Bird of the Month! New! Learn how your school, nature center or nonprofit organization can add audio clips to its website.