Blue Jay vs Eastern Bluebird
The check that settles it
Much smaller, no crest, orange breast, and it perches in the open rather than moving through cover.
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
- Size
- 25–30 cm
- Bill
- conical
- Where
- feeder, yard, woodland
- Voice
- A harsh descending 'jaay'. Also an astonishing imitation of a red-shouldered hawk, which empties a feeder in seconds and is often done for exactly that reason.
Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis
- Size
- 16–21 cm
- Bill
- thin pointed
- Where
- open field, yard
- Voice
- A soft musical 'chur-lee, chur-lee'.
Confirming a blue jay
- Blue with a black necklace and a crest.
- White patches in the wing and white corners to the tail, obvious in flight.
- Black barring across the blue of the wings and tail.
Confirming a eastern bluebird
- Blue above with an orange throat and chest and a clean white belly.
- Perches upright on wires and posts over open grass, then drops to the ground.
- Round-headed with a short thin bill.
- Females are much duller — grey-blue with a paler orange wash.