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Blue jay: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Blue jay map.gif|thumb|150px|left|Green - year round residence. Yellow - breeding only. Blue - winter only.]] | [[Image:Blue jay map.gif|thumb|150px|left|Green - year round residence. Yellow - breeding only. Blue - winter only.]] | ||
The diet of a Blue Jay consists of nuts, fruit, insects, mice, frogs, and other bird's eggs. [http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/printouts/Bluejayprintout.shtml] They are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals. They like to scare other animals into giving them their food and use their beaks to crack open nut shells. | The diet of a Blue Jay consists of nuts, fruit, insects, mice, frogs, and other bird's eggs. [http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/printouts/Bluejayprintout.shtml] They are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals. An estimated 24% of their diet is other animals, and 76% is organic matter. [http://www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds/accounts/BLJAa2.htm] They like to scare other animals into giving them their food and use their beaks to crack open nut shells. | ||
They are predated by hawks, racoons, cats, snakes, squirrels, and falcons. Both parents will attempt to scare away any predator by chasing and attacking them. [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cyanocitta_cristata.html] Blue Jay families, consisting of the young and it's parents, don't usually live in close contact with other families. They only time a large number of Blue Jays will gathers is to scare away any predators. They will even chase and attack humans if they come to close. [http://www.aspensongwildbirdfood.com/wildbirds/speciesprofiles/detail.php?id=69] | They are predated by hawks, racoons, cats, snakes, squirrels, and falcons. Both parents will attempt to scare away any predator by chasing and attacking them. [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cyanocitta_cristata.html] Blue Jay families, consisting of the young and it's parents, don't usually live in close contact with other families. They only time a large number of Blue Jays will gathers is to scare away any predators. They will even chase and attack humans if they come to close. [http://www.aspensongwildbirdfood.com/wildbirds/speciesprofiles/detail.php?id=69] | ||
They are knownt to be selfish and hostile. During | They are knownt to be selfish and hostile. During winter periods, they tend to store up more food than they can eat which can help the envirement in the spreading of plant seeds. They have been thought to have aided in the spread of Oak Trees across North America. [http://www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds/accounts/BLJAa2.htm] However they can also be a nusiance because they have been noted to carry the West Nile Virus. [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cyanocitta_cristata.html] | ||
Most of them do not migrate, but stay in the same area all year round. They live in the Gulf Coast and Eastern United States all the way up to Southern Canada. They are slowly moving westward as well. They live more towards the edges of deciduous and coniferous forests or in urban areas such as city parks. | Most of them do not migrate, but stay in the same area all year round. They live in the Gulf Coast and Eastern United States all the way up to Southern Canada. They are slowly moving westward as well. They live more towards the edges of deciduous and coniferous forests or in urban areas such as city parks. | ||
[http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Jay_dtl.html] They love to reside in towns and cities where a quantity of large nut producing trees can be found. [http://www.aspensongwildbirdfood.com/wildbirds/speciesprofiles/detail.php?id=69] | [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Jay_dtl.html] They love to reside in towns and cities where a quantity of large nut producing trees can be found. [http://www.aspensongwildbirdfood.com/wildbirds/speciesprofiles/detail.php?id=69] In Missouri, they have estimated a 2% increase of Blue Jays every year. | ||
== Interesting Facts == | == Interesting Facts == | ||
