Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Length 11 in., wingspan 16 in., Family Corvidae
Ten different kinds of jays inhabit various parts of the U.S., but the
most common species is the Blue Jay. This big, noisy bird lives in both
woodlands and cities from the Atlantic coast to the Great Plains. Except
in breeding season, it often travels in small flocks. The Blue Jay is
our only migratory jay.
The Blue Jay’s upperparts are grayish blue, its wings and tail bright
blue, marked with black and white. Its underside is very pale gray. It
has a large blue crest, a white throat outlined in black, and a large,
sturdy black beak. Females and males look alike; juveniles are only
slightly duller.
Jays are omnivorous – they eat everything! Their diet includes nuts,
especially acorns, seeds, frogs, insects and caterpillars, even the eggs
and young of other birds. They nest in trees.
The Blue Jay will not win any prizes for its voice. Its common call is a
shrill, unpleasant scream of jaaaay. It is an expert mimic and
often copies the keeyer of a hawk.
Its manners are not so pretty either. At feeders, it chases smaller
birds away and has been known to collect as many as 30 kernels of corn
in its jaws before flying away. It buries acorns and other choice
morsels, but often forgets where it left them, thereby “planting” trees
unintentionally.
