At the beginning of the blog, let me do a survey, bluebirds and blue jays, which one do you prefer?

○ Bluebirds

○ Blue Jays

Looking forward to seeing your answer in the comment and now let’s see some typical differences between them!

Bluebirds

First of all, let’s briefly know more about bluebirds. The blue jay is a medium-sized songbird in North America, and there are three main types: the eastern bluebird, the western bluebird, and the mountain bluebird.

• Eastern Bluebird

It is a small North American songbird that can be easily found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. Bluebird is only about 7 inches. Its head, back, and wings are blue, and its chest and belly are orange and white respectively. What’s more, the male has more bright-blue breeding plumage which makes it easily observed on an open perch.

If you are based in East-central southern Canada to the US Gulf states, and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua, You can often see this type of bird in your yard all the year.

•  Western Bluebird

Western Bluebirds are very similar to eastern bluebirds. Males of both species have dark blue backs, wings, and heads, with orange breasts. However, male Western Bluebirds have blue throats, while the male Eastern Bluebirds have orange throats. And the western bluebirds can be found in the Rocky Mountains and beyond the western side of the USA.

• Mountain Bluebird

Unlike the other two bluebirds, male mountain bluebirds are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath, the females are more grey.

Blue Jays

Alright, after having a general understanding of the bluebirds, it is time for the blue jays to appear!

I’m not sure if you have seen blue jays before but I have to say that blue jays are much bigger than bluebirds. They measure 9–12 inches from bill to tail, with a wingspan of 34–43 cm (13–17 inches). Its plumage is lavender-blue to mid-blue in the crest, back, wings, and tail, and its face is white. The underside is off-white and the neck is collared with black which extends to the sides of the head, which makes them really charming.

In addition to the differences in appearance mentioned above, the differences between Bluebirds and Blue jay also exist in behavior, sound, diet, etc.

Behavior

I’ve learned that blue jays are very disliked by a lot of people because they are very aggressive and will often attack other small birds that are feeding with them to monopolize the bird feeder, sometimes even attacking humans with their very hard beaks.

In contrast, bluebirds are much more docile and adorable. They like to be alone, so they often inhabit trees and shrubs, which allows them to easily hunt for insects. Of course, you can also sprinkle some bird food and watch them bounce around your yard, or hang up a couple of Kingsyard Bird Feeders and lie back in a chair and watch them feast. Certainly, Prepare a Kingsyard Bird House suitable for the lovely bluebirds in the cold winter, I believe God and the birds will be grateful to you.

Songs&Sound

One of the best ways to tell a blue jay from a blue jay is to listen, and the blue jay is notorious for making noise in the backyard. But they are also smart and inquisitive. You will find that blue jays are very protective of their nests and will attack any intruder insight, including domestic pets and humans. A threatened blue jay will raise its crest and make raucous calls as if they are calling for backup.

● Bluebirds Song

● Blue Jays Song

Diet

Nearly all of the birds are omnivorous, and so do Bluebirds and Blue Jays. Generally speaking, Blue Jays prefer a diet of peanuts, sunflower seeds, and corn. On the other hand, bluebirds prefer a diet of mealworms and suet. Both of them will enjoy a little fruit too, so hanging a fruit feeder is also perfect. If you have some bluebirds in your nesting boxes or feeders, indeed, these are bluebirds.

Summary

Here are some typical differences between these two kinds of birds, if you want to know more about something that we don’t mention, please comment below and we’ll see it! Besides, have ever picked up a bluebird egg? Why did bluebirds abandon their eggs? We know that!

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