Birds of St Columba's - Jay

The Jay

Jay (Garrulus glandarius) In my 36 years in the College I have seen this most colourful member of the crow family only three times: each time it was while walking down the driveway that now leads to the nursing home. They are easily identified by their reddish brown plumage and the bright blue bars on their wings. Being very good mimics of other species it is difficult to identify them by their call. They are inhabitants of mixed woodland, particularly oak so the Deerpark is ideal territory for it. They hoard acorns and eat many invertebrate pest species so they are generally a useful species. They nest in large shrubs or trees laying about six eggs