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Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata

Nearly ubiquitous and stable
Action/monitoring needed

“What: is the jay more precious than the lark, / Because his feathers are more beautiful?” – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

Though they may be the most visually striking of all backyard birds, the impressiveness of Blue Jays is somewhat diminished by their ubiquity. These handsome birds are known to just about every child and adult in the Commonwealth. They are a common sight swooping through the suburbs in search of food, announcing their presence with raucous cries. Although they are often derided as rascals and bullies, the success of Blue Jays in Massachusetts is a testament to the birds’ survivor spirit.

Historic Status

Blue Jays historically occupied the forests of the Commonwealth, but quickly adapted to human changes to the landscape, and accordingly their populations have never wavered in Massachusetts. William Peabody noted in the mid-1800s: “These birds are said to abound at the south in winter; but if any really migrate from Massachusetts, it must be but a small proportion; since, if a handful of corn be anywhere thrown upon the snow, it will be very soon surrounded with a busy and animated party” (Peabody 1839). Saturation of Massachusetts and the other five New England states by Blue Jays was well established throughout the first seven decades of the twentieth century.

Atlas 1 Distribution

Blue Jays were loudly advertising their presence during Atlas 1. Only a handful of blocks west of the Worcester Plateau lacked evidence of breeding Blue Jays. The Lower Worcester Plateau had half a dozen jayless blocks – a curiously high proportion, and potentially an artifact of survey effort, considering that the Coastal Plains region is more than three times as large but reported only a few more blocks devoid of jays. With the exception of some offshore blocks in the Harbor Islands, the Boston Basin was completely saturated with breeding Blue Jays. Jays were ubiquitous in the Bristol/Narragansett Lowlands as well. While still very widespread on Cape Cod and the Islands, it was within this region that the species was missing from the greatest number of blocks. Most absences were from offshore island blocks where there was little land area, and accordingly there were few of the mast trees like oak and beech that jays depend on for food in the absence of people.

Atlas 2 Distribution and Change

Suburban residents continued to observe the splash of vibrant color that Blue Jays brought into their neighborhoods during the inter-Atlas period. The species was remarkably persistent in the western regions, losing no territory whatsoever west of the Worcester Plateau and even gaining a handful of new blocks. Incremental dips and tiny gains were reported from the more easterly ecoregions, where Blue Jays were once again found in the overwhelming majority of blocks.

Atlas 1 Map

Atlas 2 Map

Atlas Change Map

Ecoregion Data

	Atlas 1			Atlas 2			Change
Ecoregion	# Blocks	% Blocks	% of Range	# Blocks	% Blocks	% of Range	Change in # Blocks	Change in % Blocks
Taconic Mountains	16	100.0	1.7	24	96.0	2.4	0	0.0
Marble Valleys/Housatonic Valley	39	100.0	4.2	39	100.0	3.9	0	0.0
Berkshire Highlands	55	100.0	6.0	55	100.0	5.5	0	0.0
Lower Berkshire Hills	28	100.0	3.1	31	100.0	3.1	0	0.0
Vermont Piedmont	16	94.1	1.7	17	100.0	1.7	0	0.0
Berkshire Transition	36	94.7	3.9	40	100.0	4.0	1	3.2
Connecticut River Valley	56	100.0	6.1	64	98.5	6.4	0	0.0
Worcester Plateau	76	97.4	8.3	88	100.0	8.9	0	0.0
Lower Worcester Plateau	68	91.9	7.4	79	98.8	7.9	1	1.9
S. New England Coastal Plains and Hills	261	96.7	28.4	279	98.6	28.1	2	0.9
Boston Basin	52	92.9	5.7	51	91.1	5.1	-2	-3.6
Bristol and Narragansett Lowlands	104	98.1	11.3	104	91.2	10.5	-2	-2.0
Cape Cod and Islands	111	81.6	12.1	123	85.4	12.4	3	2.5
Statewide Total	918	94.7	100.0	994	95.9	100.0	3	0.4

Notes

Despite this apparent stability, the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) shows significant declines in the Blue Jay abundance for Massachusetts, the New England/Mid-Atlantic Region, and the Eastern US overall. They fall into our “whispering bird” category – those species with a demonstrated stable or increasing breeding footprint from Atlas 2 data, but also a demonstrated decline in abundance from the BBS. This drives our final assessment that this is a species with a need for further monitoring.