While bluebirds are known to be sweetly singing along the farms and open woodlands, the aggressive ‘whirr’ and ‘click click click’ of another bird kind of interrupts the silence.
If these gregarious birds approach you with a raised crest, wearing a black collar, beware because they are blue jays. No, bluebirds vs blue jays are not close cousins. They are not even related.
Upon a close observation of some of their physical features and behavioral pattern, it becomes very easy to tell the two birds apart. Let’s swoop down early to catch the worm (or else blue jays will get them before you)!
Contents
Overview: Bluebird vs Blue Jay
Bluebirds are extremely beautiful, medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the family called ‘Turdidae’, and the genus Sialia. There are three species of bluebirds found in different regions of North America. They are the Mountain, Eastern and the Western bluebirds. They are called bluebirds for the most obvious reason– their plumage varies from light blue to deep blue mostly.
When we come to Blue jays, they are blue birds too. They belong to the family Corvidae, and genus Cyanocitta. The genus has one species by the name ‘cristata’ or Blue jay, the bird in question. The species have 4 subspecies– Northern, Coastal, Interior and Florida Blue jays. Blue jays have different shades of blue on their feathers, with black stripes on their tails.
What Are The Similarities Between Bluebird and Blue Jay?
The plumage of both the birds is blue which is the main source of the dilemma. The upper sides of bluebirds and blue jays are mainly varying shades of blue– with sky blue, navy blue, cyan, and cerulean as most dominantly visible, among other colors. All species and subspecies of both these avians share blue hue in their feathers.
Source: @robert.edward.photography
Not only plumage, but their eyes and beaks are also similar in shape and color. Both have dark eyes, with small and pointed beaks, with the color of the beak being grayish-black.
Source: @teresamelcerfrankowski
To add more to the dilemma, the male and the female of blue jays show almost zero sexual dimorphism, meaning they are completely the same to look at. Dietary preferences of the two birds are similar too– both like to eat fruits and small invertebrates.
How Do You Tell Bluebird and Blue Jay Apart?
Below are listed some of the best differentiating features between bluebirds and blue jays. We have started the list with the most contrasting feature for your convenience.
Source: @igersindiana
Crest
Bluebirds have round and plain blue heads, with the females having duller tones. This blue coloration could range from light blue to navy blue, including mesmerizing hues of cyan and sapphire. However one thing that bluebirds do not have is a crest, that blue jays flaunt. Both the male and female blue jays boast a large, feathered, blue colored crest on their heads.
Blue jays can raise and lower this crest to express their mood. When blue jays get excited or aggravated, the crest gets raised or appears brush-like. When they are resting or feeding, the crests are back-brushed, almost indistinguishable from their round heads.
Black Neck Or Collar
Blue jays have an eye-catching black marking all around their neck which makes them appear to be wearing a black bow-tie. This is one of the noteworthy differences that helps tell the two birds apart. Why so? Because bluebirds do not have this black bow-tie feature around their neck. Their necks are either plain blue or orange.
Source: @llinkous
Tail
Bluebirds have a much shorter tail than blue jays, and it is an unmistakable difference, noticeable even from a distance. On the other hand, blue jays possess these really long tails, blue with neat white edges, with the world-famous black stripes all over the wings and tails.
When a blue jay spreads its wings and tails, it looks as if it is wearing a black and blue checkered- shirt. Compare them with the tails of bluebirds—- bluebird’s tails are plain and monochromatic. But they are blue though, that is for sure.
Beak
Blue jays have, doubtlessly, larger and stronger beaks. They could exist in different colors– black, red or blue. With such strong beaks, they definitely bear advantage during foraging.
Bluebirds comparably have shorter and thinner beaks that they use to hunt for smaller insects and vertebrates. However, beaks of the Eastern bluebirds are significantly larger than the other species. Bills are usually completely black.
Size And Body Shape
Speaking in numbers, bluebirds are 6.3 to 8.3 inches long, weighing about 0.8 to 1.1 oz, with a wingspan between 9.8 and 14.2 inches. Rather impressive, for a little birdie like them.
However, in the world of tiny chirpies, blue jays happen to be a little larger. They are 9.8 to 12 inches long, weighing 2.5 to 3.5 oz, and flaunting a wingspan that ranges from 13.4 to 16.9 inches. They are just a few inches and ounces short of almost double the size of bluebirds.
Bluebirds also tend to look plumper and fluffier, if you notice closely. They have small heads and black legs and feet. Blue jays have larger heads, a more streamlined body and broader chest.
Plumage
The Western and the Eastern bluebirds have deep-blue coloration on their heads and backs, accompanied by contrasting rust-tinged breasts and flanks. However, their underparts are white to off-white. Mountain bluebirds, on the other hand, are cerulean blue all over their body. With that heavenly plumage, they look like segments of sky floating about on Earth.
Females of these species of bluebirds have lighter tones of the same colors. They have a lot of light blue, light brown and gray on their feathers. They also possess little streaks of blue on their tails and wings, with their breast region being mostly orange to buff.
In the case of blue jays, there is no sexual dimorphism between the males and females. They both look completely similar, with blue upperparts and white underparts. Their most attractive feature is the blue and white coloration on their wings and tails, marked with black stripes.
Florida blue jays, Steller’s jays, Eurasian jays, and California scrub jays look quite similar to bluebirds, with small bodies and blue coloration on their wings. However, the North-American blue jays look quite different from the bluebirds.
One of the best ways to tell bluebirds apart from blue jays is to remember that blue jays do not have a rusty breast, that bluebirds do. Their breast regions are usually white, bluish or gray in coloration.
Source: @jessewatkins_
Throat Pouch
One major difference between bluebirds and blue jays is the throat pouch that is present in jays but not in their twin-like competitor. Blue jays have a pouch located just below their throat that assists them to cache food during scarce food supply.
With their large, gaping mouths and gular pouch combined, they can carry about 5 to 6 acorns at a time, while bluebirds just sit there staring at them taking all their food away. However, throat pouches in jays are not externally visible, thus cannot be used as an effective differentiation feature, unfortunately.
Social Behavior
Bluebirds are generally mild and timid, not very friendly but not aggressive either. Among the different species, each one shows varying degrees of amiability. The Eastern bluebirds are quite social and can be spotted flocking around with their own kin, and other birds too.
Western bluebirds are a little less social, whereas Mountain bluebirds are not social at all. Mountain bluebirds can be seen in flocks only during migration. However, they do get territorial during mating and breeding season, but then, which animal does not?
Blue jays are not that friendly, especially when compared to the sweet and shy bluebirds. They are usually always seen either singular or in pairs. It is only during migration and foraging that they prefer to stay in flocks, and that too for their own benefit, to save their own backs when predators attack. They are quite territorial during mating and nesting times, and may attack humans, dogs and cats, owls and bats, if they are considered as threats for any reason.
During the nesting season, they are sometimes seen fighting other birds to death to book that spot that the female has laid her hands (or wings rather) on. Blue jays have eye-catching crests on their heads that signal their mood– beware if it is raised high. Run away from there at once!
Calls
Bluebirds and blue jays, both are singing passerines. However, bluebirds have a more melodious voice that suits their subdued personality. Their sounds are mostly low-pitched warbles, sometimes accompanied by slightly harsh ‘che-check’ calls, like in the case of the Western bluebirds. Eastern bluebirds make soft ‘chur-lee’ and ‘chit-chit-chit’ sounds.
The male blue jays, on the other hand, generate sounds that, strictly speaking, do not resemble singing. During the mating season, they whisper whines, whirrs and click vocalizations to attract the attention of the females. When they feel threatened or competing for food and nests, they become extremely aggressive and make sharp and piercing “jeering” noises.
The North-American blue jay sings the whisper song of courtship. As for the female blue jays, they make characteristic ‘rattle’ and ‘beep’ noises during courtship and for calling their chicks.
Source: @sujataroy6333
Diet
The dietary preferences of bluebirds and blue jays depend on some of their physical features like their beaks and feet. Bluebirds have smaller beaks so they usually go for smaller insects, and fruits that are easy to penetrate. Blue jays, on the other hand, have larger beaks and they choose to eat larger insects, reptiles and mammals.
In summer, when the food supply is abundant, bluebirds go for insects like crickets, caterpillars, bees, beetles and grasshoppers. In winters, however, they choose to munch on berries, seeds, nuts, and fruits. One thing to note, they do not like seeds and acorns that much, and would rather go without them. They cannot crack open hard nuts and shells.
Blue jays have an advantage– they are larger, more aggressive, with longer and stouter beaks. They hunt down frogs, mice, small reptiles, carrion, and even eggs and nestlings of other birds. In winters, they love, and literally search for, acorns. In fact, they officially help in the dispersal of the seeds of oak trees. Hazelnuts and corn kernels are their favorite too.
Source: @requiemjp
Habitat
Bluebirds love open spaces like deserts and plains, open fields and woodlands, even rural roads and country plains. They can be commonly sighted in the arid atmosphere of Mexico and Arizona, and the hot and dry plains of Montana. They stay away from dense forests mostly.
Blue jays, on the contrary, are birds of the forests. They are mostly found in the eastern parts of the United States and Canada, chirping around the pines and oaks of mixed forests. They are found in gardens and parks too.
Foraging Tactics
The foraging techniques that the two birds carry out are strikingly different. Bluebirds are known to be gentle and submissive, and do not usually engage in fights with other birds except during mating or nesting times. They perch on branches for long lengths of time, surveying the ground and the foliage underneath. As soon as they spot their prey, they swoop down to catch it.
At other times, they use the infamous “hawking” tactic, where they hover above the ground, and as soon as they catch a glimpse of their prey, they catch the prey in mid-air without landing on any surface. Mountain bluebirds do this all the time. They also glean for insects inside barks and shrubs down below the trees where they sit and keep an eye on everything.
Let’s say this straight– hawking and hovering are not the hunting tactics of blue jays. They will do everything else, like stealing other birds’ food and decapitating competitor birds to get what they want. They steal robin’s eggs and mimic the calls of raptor birds, like the red-shouldered hawks, to scare other birds away so that it can have all the food.
Among the less invasive hunting tactics, blue jays cache food. They have a throat pouch that allows them to store 5 to 6 acorns at once. They forage on the ground mostly, and also on trees and shrubs. Like the bluebirds, they engage in gleaning for food too.
Nesting Behavior
One thing quite similar between bluebirds and blue jay’s nest choosing technique is that the males collect all building materials from the forest and hand them over to the females to make the nest. The final choice of nest and if they would move in, is solely made by the females. In the case of blue jays, the male and the female make multiple nests before one is finally chosen.
The breeding season of bluebirds starts in early February and continues till March. Bluebirds start making their nests in areas covered with low-growths of vegetation or on plain, bare ground. They make their nests with materials like feathers, grass and pine-needles. The family lays 3 to 4 eggs per clutch and incubates for 12 to 14 days. Not all species of bluebirds make nests– they would prefer using the abandoned nests of other birds.
On the other hand, the breeding season of blue jays starts when the breeding season of bluebirds ends, that is, in March and continues till July. They use sticks and grass to make their nests 10 to 30 feet above the ground on tree-forks. Vibrant colors fill coniferous and deciduous forests during breeding season– the pines, oaks and spruces get laden with blue jay nests.
Blue jay mothers lay 4 to 5 eggs per clutch, which is a few more than the eggs of bluebirds. Their incubation time is also longer by 5 to 6 days. Certain species of blue jays prefer abandoned nests of robins as their new home.
FAQ
Questions about bluebirds and blue jays are endless. If you still have more queries, you can take a quick glance at some of the FAQs below.
Q: Will Blue Jays attack Bluebirds?
Ans: These two adorable passerines share birdfeeders and are spotted at the same places sometimes. The situation might be quite different during mating and foraging, as in the case of every other animal on Earth. During desperate times, it may attack bluebirds or steal their eggs.
Q: Which one is more common– Blue Jays or Bluebirds?
Ans: Blue jays are more aggressive and eat a lot of things, and live in more versatile habitats. On the other hand, bluebirds have preferred habitats, eat insects and berries mostly, and are shy and timid by nature. For these reasons, blue jays have better survival chances and thus are more in number.
Q: Are Bluebirds related to Blue Jays?
Ans: No, they are not related at all. They belong to different families of birds. They may look similar but behave quite differently.
Differences Between Bluebird And Blue Jay At-A-Glance
A lot of clarification can be obtained by comparing the features of two different birds side-by-side. Let’s take a look at the difference table below.
| Features | Bluebird | Blue Jay |
| Crest | Plain blue head | Has a blue, feathered crest |
| Collar | No collar markings | Has black markings around the neck like a collar |
| Tail | Short, plain blue tails | Long, blue and white tails, with black stripes |
| Size and Body Shape | Smaller, lighter, puffier | Larger, heavier, streamlined |
| Plumage | Mostly blue with rusty breast and underparts | Blue, green wings, absence of rusty breast |
| Social Behavior | Shy and timid | Aggressive |
Thoughts
At first look, bluebirds and blue jays look quite similar, and it is mainly because of their blue wings. When comparing bluebird vs blue jay, the differences are clear.
The best way to tell the two apart is to look at their head and chest regions. Search for crest and collar markings– if they are present, it is definitely a blue jay. If the bird’s undersides are orange, hold on, it is most apparently a bluebird.
Researching more about their species and keeping an eye out for their calls and other types of behavior, will help you to differentiate between them.
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