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You are here: Home / articles / It Mimics A Hawk And Serves As A Mascot – The Beautiful Blue Jay

It Mimics A Hawk And Serves As A Mascot – The Beautiful Blue Jay

April 21, 2017 by Paige's assistant

Learn about Blue Jay in an instant with this information, activity, and free printable!

The sound of the blue jay calling takes me back to my grandmother’s backyard. I can remember hearing them cry out a warning as we would run through her grass paths and hide behind the massive live oaks.  These beautiful birds are relatively easy to spot and serve as sever sports team mascots!

The blue jay has a range of calls, including one that mimics the call of the red-shouldered hawk! This animal is a songbird and it belongs to the family of crows. These intelligent birds can be found in central and eastern parts of North America.

Unlike its crow cousin, the blue jay has very little black. This bird is mostly blue, but it’s face, throat, and belly are decked out in greyish-white feathers. The blue jay also has some stunning blue, black, and white stripes on its wings and tail. Males are a bit larger than the females, but otherwise, their plumage is similar.

If you see a blue jay with a crest standing tall on its head, chances are the bird is trying to warn you that he’s about to get very aggressive!  Blue jays are known to chase away predators and other birds from their nest or food source.

Fun Fact – Blue jay’s are very smart – in the lab, they have been observed using newspaper to get a hold of out of reach food!

Related Homeschool Science Activities

Keep the learning going with these science activities!

  • Feather Collection – Blue jay tail feathers are easy to identify and gorgeous additions to any collection. Have your students look around for feathers to collect in your yard or on your nature walk. Then, identify and display them! 

Links to Research

10 Interesting Facts About Blue Jays
Blue Jay Facts
Blue Jay call
{Video} Blue Jay – Mini-Documentary

Filed Under: articles, biology, instascience, nature study, teaching science at home Tagged With: birds, fall, instascience, spring, summer, winter

Welcome to the Elemental Blogging Laboratory

 
profile picWelcome to the Elemental Blogging Laboratory, a.k.a. the Eb Lab. Here at the lab, I have the pleasure of sharing with you all my passion for mixing up solutions for homeschool science! My name is Paige Hudson. I am a homeschooling mom and science curriculum writer for Elemental Science.
 
Why do I call this blog the "Eb Lab"? It is because I am scientist at heart and by profession, so it pretty much spills into everything I do. I love to share tips and tools with fellow educators as they seek to share science with their students!
 
That is what this blog is all about. One homeschooler to another, sharing her area of expertise, seeking to support you as you teach your students about the wonders of science.
 
So, grab your lab coat, notebook, and goggles...well maybe not the goggles because let's face it nobody looks good in those...and you probably don't have a lab coat lying around your house either...
 
So, grab a cup of coffee and notebook, and head on in to the Eb Lab to gather tools for homeschool science, tips for homeschooling, and the latest Elemental Science news!
 
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