July 3, 2024, 4:15 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The jay is probably one of the most striking bird species in native forests. Thanks to its blue and black banded wing feathers, the colorful corvid is easily recognizable, even in flight. And like many other members of this family, the jay is unusually intelligent. PETBOOK describes seven fascinating facts about this feathered forest dweller.
The Eurasian jay owes its German name (“Eichelhäher”) to its favorite food: it can carry up to ten acorns in its throat pouch. But beechnuts, nuts, berries, and fruit are also part of its diet, especially in the cold season. From spring to fall, the jay also eats animal-based food like caterpillars, beetles, and even small reptiles and young birds. What is really impressive, however, is its memory. PETBOOK reveals below what this is all about, as well as other fascinating characteristics that make the jay so special.
1. They collect up to 15 kilograms of food
Like squirrels, jays also stockpile food for the winter. From August on, they start to eagerly collect acorns, hazelnuts, and other nut fruits. A single jay buries up to 3000 acorns per season – the equivalent of 15 kilograms of food. During the main collection period from August to October, they spend up to eleven hours a day building up their deposits.
2. They can memorize up to 6000 hiding places
Nature has equipped the jay with an extraordinary memory that enables it to repeatedly find supplies. The iridescent corvid is said to be able to remember up to 6000 nut hiding places! Experiments have shown that the jay is capable of remembering past events – an ability that was long thought to be closely linked to language and thus reserved for humans.
3. They deliberately mislead scavengers
When it comes to storing its supply, the jay cannot be fooled. If it notices that it is being watched while burying its acorns, it will dig them up again and bury them elsewhere. Sometimes it actually buries stones to mislead scavengers.
4. They imitate the voices of other birds
The jay is a talented vocal imitator and can accurately and deceptively imitate hawks and buzzards. Why do they do this? Biologists do not have an answer to this question yet; perhaps they enjoy it? What is certain, however, is that they use their distinctive, piercing caw to warn other forest dwellers of danger. This behavior has earned them the nickname “policeman of the forest”. Its alarm calls foil many predators as well as human hunters.
5. They are not easily fooled
These clever birds are much better at seeing through a sleight of hand than humans are. In one experiment, jays were taught to peck at the hand they suspected had food. If they were then made to believe that the snack had changed hands, they were less likely to be fooled than humans who were shown a video of the “shell game trick”.
6. They bathe in anthills
To clean its plumage of annoying parasites, the jay takes a bath in an anthill. The small colony-building insects suspect an attack on their nest and secrete formic acid, which the jay rolls around in. This is particularly effective against mites. This special form of plumage care is known as ‘anting’.
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7. They know their partner’s favorite food
In experiments, male jays have shown a characteristic that some women would probably also like to see in their husbands: they were able to assess which food their female partner would prefer. How did they do this? The males observed which food their partner was eating and then subsequently brought a different food to them.12