The Winter Blues Part Two - Corvid Punks, The Eurasian Jay

The Winter Blues Part Two - Corvid Punks, The Eurasian Jay

by

Rob Read

The Eurasian Jay is a raucous avian component of many woodlands in the UK. They have an important relationship with oak trees; their habit of burying acorns effectively helps regeneration. Photo © David Tipling

For those of us in the UK, there aren’t many of our native birds that display blue in their plumage. Contrast this with the plethora of avian colour on display in other corners of the globe. In this series we have visited numerous continents and been introduced to some of the amazing species that can be found – most of them very familiar to the Wild Read authors who have immortalised them in words and pixels for you, our readers.

But there is one British bird that springs to mind and is certainly worthy of a place in the blue hall of fame. While the majority of the Corvid family is rather monochromatic, the Eurasian Jay bucks this trend; perhaps not in a riot of colour, but it’s certainly a handsome bird with its predominantly pinkish-buff plumage, black and white chequer-board wing markings and dark facial ‘moustache’. But the jewel in the crown is the striking patch of blue on the ‘shoulder’ of the wing. The Jay is able to raise its crest feathers, which it does frequently during communication. This commonly takes the form of a rasping and rather raucous call, a sound that accompanies my every walk in the woodland close to my home. 

Jays are an important bird in the woodland ecosystem. Famous for their love of acorns, a single Jay will collect and bury thousands of acorns every year as they seek to cache food for the winter months. The Oaks have a lot to thank this woodland gardener for.

With their bold colours, raised crest and raucous call, they are the Sid Vicious of the woodland, screaming out their corvid punk rock as I dare to walk beneath their lofty perches. Good to know there is still a little Anarchy in the UK…..

Rob Read. January 2022.