Will Blue Jays Leave Little Things in Exchange for Food
Fun and Interesting Facts About Blue Jays – These little birds probably make even pigeons seem kind of lazy when it comes to actually finding food on their own.
They'll fly around looking at twigs and leaves until something catches their eye, then swoop down into trees and eat whatever they find there. If they see some bread crumbs nearby, they'll follow those because they've got good taste buds. And if someone happens by while one of these hungry babies is eating out of your hand, well, we wouldn't want anyone getting sick now would we?
But aside from being incredibly talented scavengers, blue jays are full of surprises. Let's take a closer look at our favorite Canadian native through this list of 22 lesser known facts about these crows of the North American continent.
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1.Jay's black-and-white coloring is what makes them so recognizable
Blue jays aren't exactly known as model specimens of health. But if you were to pick one up off its perch and examine it closely, you'd notice two important features right away. First, its beak is a bright white color, which gives it a distinctive appearance against the rest of its body. Second, there's no feathers whatsoever covering the top half of its head (or "head") — instead, it appears bare except for tufts of hair above each ear. This bald spot isn't really an accident either — it's part of the way the animal looks naturally.
The reason behind why a blue jay doesn't require more protection than needed is still unknown, but scientists believe it could possibly relate to evolution. Humans typically lose their first set of baby feathers after roughly three months, which means a newborn needs extra care during that period. In contrast, the adult version of a blue jay loses all of its feather coverage soon after reaching maturity. That might mean that once it reaches adulthood, a blue jay doesn't need nearly as many additional layers of protection as humans do, since it already knows how to keep itself warm and dry without the help of a few decorative feathers.
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2.They're the only bird that laughs like a person
This particular talent of theirs was likely passed along genetically, according to Dr. Thomas Erskine, who studies the evolutionary biology of songbirds at Stetson University. He told us via email that he believes researchers found evidence of this ability in several extinct songbird families, including Corvus corax, Cyanocitta yagouaroundi and Cisticola tinniensis. However, he said research hasn't been able to determine whether this trait existed in the common ancestor of modern blue jays and human beings.
According to Erskine, the theory goes back to Charles Darwin. Back in 1871, the famed biologist suggested that certain traits seen in animals today originated long ago thanks to natural selection. Basically, the environment changed enough to give rise to new characteristics in living creatures over time. For example, if predators started hunting smaller prey instead of larger ones, the smaller versions of those animals became better equipped to survive. As such, they eventually thrived — and evolved into bigger forms than ever before.
With regards to the blue jay laughing thing specifically, Erskine says it may have come from early man trying to imitate his feathered friends' calls. It's possible that some ancient tribes decided to mimic sounds made by other people in order to communicate with them, similar to how dogs use barks to convey messages. Eventually, this method spread across cultures throughout history, leading to the development of languages. So perhaps it wasn't too farfetched for primitive peoples to think that birds did it, too.
After hearing the laughter of another person, however, a blue jay won't try to copy the sound it heard. Instead, the bird seems to get caught up in a frenzy of excitement at having witnessed something funny. According to Erskine, this behavior could be explained by the fact that primates tend to laugh more often than birds do. Birds usually stick to imitating vocalizations they hear, rather than making noises themselves. Thus, seeing another person laugh could trigger emotions within them, causing them to burst out in fits of giggling.
In addition to imitation, blue jays also laugh for reasons related to mating practices. Male birds sometimes use these kinds of laughs to attract females, especially when competing for the attention of multiple mates. Another study published earlier this year suggests that male blue jays are particularly attracted to female birds whose offspring are less competitively adapted to live in harsh environments. In other words, they prefer to mate with older mothers who are strong enough to fend for young children on their own.
3.They have incredible memories — they can remember specific details from up to eight different events in quick succession
Like their namesake, blue jays memorize small bits of information at a rapid pace. One experiment done last year showed that the birds learned to associate colors with objects as quickly as four days later, suggesting that their brains process visual data differently than ours. What's more, they seem capable of remembering where they put stuff as easily as other members of their family.
For instance, when presented with a box containing a toy, pieces of paper and a pen, and then left alone momentarily, blue jays can figure out where to go to retrieve the items again later. Researchers say this helps the birds save energy spent searching for lost objects, and allows them to hunt for food efficiently. When given the chance, they can also recognize individual faces among familiar individuals.
It should come as no surprise that blue jays are great mimics. Not only can they accurately repeat sounds others produce, but they can also identify the original voice based upon slight differences. Furthermore, these birds seem to understand context when repeating a word or phrase. For instance, if you ask a blue jay to repeat the sentence "I went to the store to buy groceries," it will correctly respond with "Store." Similarly, if you ask it to repeat a story involving cats, it will answer correctly with "Cat."
4.Their nests look nothing like your typical nest — and it has everything to do with how much space they need.
Unlike squirrels or owls, blue jays build simple structures called cupes. Typically, these consist of sticks and grass tied together with string. Sometimes, though, these cups grow into more complex designs depending on location and weather conditions. To create a decent home, these birds need somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 cubic feet (300 square meters) worth of materials.
Cupes serve as both a residence and a nursery, housing eggs inside and incubating them for approximately 21 days. Once those hatch, the parents feed the fledglings with regurgitated meat scraps. Meanwhile, the youngsters continue building cupes until they reach around six years old. Afterward, adults return to nesting grounds located near rivers or forests, where they spend winters feasting on seeds and nuts.
5.The most famous phrase of all time?
When asked to call their neighbor's cat, a blue jay will reply with "Blacky Black and White," followed by a loud laugh. Why does it always end with a giggle? Because it's meant to entertain whoever happened to catch sight of it.
While researchers haven't fully determined the origin of the phrase yet, experts suggest that it relates to the unique coloring pattern of these birds — namely, black-and-white. Some speculate that the reference to black and white refers to a bird's overall coloring, while others insist that it's due to the black-and-white bars on their wing tips. Still others argue that it's simply a play on words, referring to the striped tail of a common raven. Whatever the case may be, the phrase has become popular worldwide and is used in dozens of countries.
6.A pair of blue jay chicks will learn songs from each other before learning any words or phrases.
As previously mentioned, blue jays are masters of mimicry and memory. You'd never mistake them for real singers, but it turns out that even grownups can start teaching their kids basic skills before they've reached maturity. While observing a mother teach her son to talk, researchers noticed that she began singing him melodies and rhythms beforehand, helping him figure out how to form sentences with proper grammar.
Even though the boy didn't realize it at the time, he ended up forming his first poem using the techniques he picked up from his mom. Then, when he repeated the rhyme to himself, he was able to improve his pronunciation. Later on, his dad joined in, adding syllables and lyrics. By doing so, they helped their child develop language skills faster than normal.
Source: https://www.sasacenter.org/interesting-facts-about-blue-jays/
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