How To Tell Male And Female Blue Jays Apart - Is It Even Possible? 

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I raised a baby blue may last year. I'm pretty sure she was a female. I just fed her and really never held her much wanted to have her not be used to humane contact. When she could eat by herself and could fly a bit i would let her out and flap her wings the cage she was in was over 6 foot tall 4ft wide when she got away once she was out all night and I was so worried she came back the next morning very hungry so I got her back in the cage better waited until there were a whole bunch of blue jays where she was born and I let her out and she came back one time 4 her favorite food cashews then back again and I think she would come by every once in awhile a squawk I would put your blue jay sounds on for her so she knew what they sounded like and she likes it. I rescued her because a cat was going to eat her. I'm glad I rescued her cuz hopefully it's been a year now she has babies of her own. I'm from Springfield Illinois.

Very well done video! I'm still amazed how you can recognize all your bird friends individually.

I’m so glad you posted this video. I’ve learned more in a few minutes than I could possibly learn by watching. It’s so wonderful to see the trust you have with them. I’ve had very few birds Get close enough to me that it shows a small bit of trust. I’ve only been feeding for a few months, watching for a few more.

4:58 they look like they're about to drop the hottest indie album of the year

Your relationship with them is incredible. Thanks so much for the video!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who names my backyard birds! My husband thinks I'm crazy but I have a Cardinal named Frederick, and his mate Ethel. Another Cardinal named Cassius and his mate Athena. Also have several Blue Jay's but haven't been able to tell the difference between male and female to name them. Awesome video, thank you

Ha ha, very interesting. Before I knew it was a Bluejay that made the squeeky gate call., I called it the Wash line bird. For when growing up we had an outdoor washline where we would hang out washed clothes to dry, with a pulley at the end of the line. When we would pull the washline through the pulley it made a sound like the Bluejays squeeky gate call. So I called it the Washline bird.

You are such an angel to care for and love these birds.

you are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome! Love the blues and your vids are the best! Please keep it up! Love and hugs!

Thank you for that interesting Blue Jay info..beautiful photography as well.

Lol As I watch the video trying to figure out a new young one in my yard.. "Oh it could be a male one, no wait, it's female... wait, that is more male acting, wait, no it's gotta be a female..." :)

Thanks so much for this video, always learning something new...

i've always loved the blue jay call, as well as the crow caw. i didn't know they had different calls - the male's call is beautiful. you are so lucky to live in the country. and thanks so much for these videos :}

At least one of the Blue Jays in my neighborhood learned to imitate a Cooper's Hawk call. I still remember being caught off guard when I first heard the imitation. I was outside one day, and I heard the call. I ran into to the house to grab my camera and I ran back out hoping to catch a couple shots of the resident Hawk. When I got back outside and waited a few minutes, I saw a Blue Jay fly away and I didn't hear the Hawk calls anymore. I then realized that I was fooled hahaha!! I read that they do that to scare away other birds, especially when there is food involved, but I was amazed to actually witness it in person. The tactic doesn't work though, because all of the usual birds still come to my feeders. It's still fascinating though! It's incredible just how intelligent they are. I have to admit, I'm still terrible at identifying males from females, but I love your explanation though Lesley!

God is amazing, brilliant, beautiful creatures. Thanks for the upload.

I have a mated blue jay pair that visits when I feed the neighborhood squirrels. I haven't figured out the genders just yet, but how I know the difference is that one has a bit more white to their tail tip than the other and the one with more blue on their tail has more defined black stripes with it. They are very picky which is funny to watch, but so far they seem ok to share with the squirrels and even a redheaded woodpecker that lives nearby. Thanks so much for all this info on them ^^

I remember this bird well, it warns the wildlife that I am hiding somewhere in the forest with my camera. Many shots gone lost. Anyway, I like seeing that creature a lot. Thanks for all these facts ... some are absolutely new for me. Well done video. Thanks for sharing.

Blue jays are just about my favorite bird. Thank you for putting out these videos!

i am with Ranger Sly! It always amazes me how you can differentiate the birds and recognize them all. It's mind baffling! I just adore watching your bird videos, and I am so very grateful to you for producing and sharing them with us! Thank you so much! Namaste.

How beautiful they are !!!! Only God could have created something so beautiful!

Every Blue Jay you called male had blue in the chin area, and the Blue Jay's you called female, had none, or almost no blue in the chin area.

I'm so glad that your videos made their way into my recommend stuff! I hope one day to be able to differentiate between the birds and get them comfortable with me. I'd love to be able to hand feed them! They're starting to recognize that I am the one who brings out the food, so I consider that progress! 😊 Thanks for all your info!!

TY Lesley for the video. I have always been told that females are less colorful the males, I have seen Jay's here that have vivid blue and some that are almost in the light blue to grey family. So I was under the impression that vivid blues were male and the other colors female. TY once again for the education.

what a gift these creatures are to us

We should take a hint from the blue Jays as far as sharing parent responsibility! I like how the dad feeds them, and basically changes their metaphorical diaper by keeping the nest clean! That's amazing. So glad I found this channel. I love learning about my own birdies! 🐦 Quick question; I don't have many trees close to my house besides the big oak tree in front, which is the hot spot, and a bunch of old evergreens (I believe, big fat Christmas tree thats 25 feet tall) that are due to die soon unfortunately thanks to bag worms. And a small mulberry bush area in the back. The woods around us is where they mostly live (very country-like here) but I wonder what else I can provide for them. Maybe plant bushes? Or more trees? We had gotten this Melissa and Doug birdhouse for my daughter to paint and we put it up in a couple spots but so far no takers on it yet. Maybe because it wasn't any higher than about 7 foot? Do they need to be high up? I still have so much to learn! I need a video on all of this! 😆

I’ve just recently started watching. I love your calm demeanor and amazing videos. I thought I knew quite a lot about common birds, but I’ve learned sooo much! Beautiful, interesting videos. Thank you, Lesley! 🐦❤️

I just wanted you to know that I love your work and aspire to be at your level using the video camera. I am learning a lot about birding from your work. I have my first feeder set up just 10 feet away from where I sit each morning and have my first group of Blue Jays that visit promptly between 0630 and 0645. They have been fun to watch and I am starting to know them. This morning they brought two younger (smaller) ones with them. I hope they keep coming back. Thanks again. I'll continue to watch.

You did an excellent job explaining the many differences. It’ll make it easier for me to know which Blue Jays male/female that are in my yard and come to me for food. Thanks!

I love your video. I am a bird watcher 50+ years, and my friends call me "Nerd Girl". Since childhood I've studied birds, and other wildlife, and I have several Peterson's guides. I got my first nature encyclopedias in 1960s. And I degularly research university ornithology and nat geo websites for bird information. Your video is one of the best and THE MOST enjoyable bird resource I've ever seen. You did a great job on this !! You have really put together a very educational and interesting piece !! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I learned something about my beloved Jays I didn't know !! Superb work !!

I would love to see you do a video on Stellar's Jays!! Out here in NW Washington State, we love our birds: Western Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Red breasted Sapsuckers, Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Peregrine Falcons and don't get me started on our flying precious gems, the Rufous and the Anna's Hummingbirds!! So it would be so grand to see a show on our Stellar's, and I am sure you will fall in love with the rest!!! Thanks for your great content and for your great compassion for birds that moves you to educate people of all ages about our precious bird families. 🙏 Namaste

Thank you,so much! Have so many blue Jays in my yard! I have food out all year long for anything hungry! Love all!

Love the catch in the air at the end. Fabulous birdos

EXCELLENT video. Thank you so much for posting it. I love birds, and my favorite ones are the Blue Jay, Cardinal, Phainopepla (Black Cardinal) and Cockatiel.

The Blue J is the Kansas bird and school mascot here...They're so beautiful 👌🏾👌🏾

Happy Summer today! Lesley, in this video,I understand is a great reference for my enjoyment of the behavior on-going of the blue jay surveys. The female and the male this fall will come visit to feed from my apartment deck for a feast of peanuts. I'll watch for the pleasure, if they will be staying around this part of the winter again. 2022-23 year, summer to autumn. Winter, wondering if the cooked liver protein interests the blue jays, if they will eat it. I'll continue to provide, from the pet store, packaged peanuts unsalted🇨🇦🐣⏳

Great information! As far as Jay calls, I've witnessed one or two arrive near our bird feeders and suet, which was very busy with many birds dining. The Jays are known to have the talent to mimic other bird calls. Some Jays will clear a busy bird feeding station by imitating the sound of a hawk or a crow, which of course will cause other, feeding birds to scatter, leaving a clear path to fly in and gorge at my avian cafe. Sure they are beautiful birds, but their awesome intelligence is also something to admire and behold. Thanks for posting your great vids and info!

I have learned so much about birds from your channel,thanks,wished we had blue jays out west.😊

Love birds .... especially my Jays and Cardinals. Thank you for caring for yours. They’re beautiful, wish I could hand feed mine.

Wonderful video and I am so impressed with your ability to get these very shy birds to both tolerate your close presence and even eat out of your hand. Which brings me to my question. Years ago while canoeing the Allagash river in early October a friend and I encountered a pair of gray jays which I believe are closely related to the blue jay. We couldn't believe how radically different the gray jay's toleration of human presence was from that of the blue jay. Within minutes of their arrival one of these incredibly bold birds was eating sunflower seeds out of my friend's hand. Totally caught up in photographing this I completely forgot that I had a frying pan full of eggs sitting over our campfire. Suddenly my friend yelled "Look at the eggs!" Thinking he was worried that they might burn I ignored him at first (burnt eggs seemed a small price to pay for great photos of a gray jay) but I eventually turned and looked at the frypan full of eggs. To my amazement the second gray jay was literally perched on the hot rim of the frypan eating the eggs! This sort of behavior was of course the reason that lumberjack's nickname for gray jays was Camp Robber! Several years after this I was hiking Mount Kathadin in northern Maine and came upon a young couple who were delighted to have a gray jay literally land on the wife's shoulder, where he remained perched as she hiked along the trail. My question is given their close relationship why would gray jays be so much more tolerant of human presence?

Your videos make me happy! Always fun and informative . . . Thanks very much

Thank you for this! I've been watching the blue jays at our feeders for a couple of years now and will be glad to have this info!!

You're lucky to have such beautiful birdies around you! They are really sweet!!!💕💕💕💕

Really nice job informing you’ve done! Enjoy even more what the Creator has created for you!

Such a wonderful video! With our scrubs, the rattle is a response to the mate's (male's) J-J-J call. Same head bob. Is there anything as joyful as that? The scrub male does not have a distinct call that I've noticed, except they are more prone to chattering (series of grunts). I sure love the blue male's call. And absolutely, gender difference has nothing to do with aggression! Both genders are all over the map on that.

I have some how managed to have 5 crows, and 5 blue Jays. They have visited me every morning for 3 years now. Amazing birds! The crows always alert me when the fox or eagles are about. I've seen some pretty odd and hilarious behavior from both species 😅

I just found an injured blue jay in my yard a few days ago. He is pretty skittish, but as I’ve been nursing him back to health he’s learned to trust me. I’ve never known how caring they are.🙂🙂

One time we rescued and raised a baby blue jay only because it was in immediate predator peril (neighbor's cat). We heard the mom screeching and saw the cat stalking around the tree. We tried to chase the cat off but it wasn't giving up. We picked up the baby who really didn't have any adult feathers yet. After consulting our local wildlife rescue center we learned that jays and robins often get out of the nest a bit too early. They told us we should leave it on the ground because the parents will still feed it. But because of the local cat and the vet said it was too early since it didn't have any adult feathers yet, we ended up hand raising the baby. A couple weeks later on a return check up to the vet, we accidentally discovered we could teach it to fly by riding it in the passenger side of the car. It instinctively began flapping its wings every time the car started rolling out from a stop sign. So we rode around the neighborhood streets getting it exercising its wings until it could fly. Funny and fun. At 8, my dad rescued an injury basset hound that had been struck by a car and left for dead on the roadside. We eventually found the owner and reunited him after 8 months. When I was 10 we rescued a baby mockingbird. At 9, we caught a box terrapin who we made a pet of and he literally hibernated under our porch for several years. At 12, I rescued a soul surviving kitten, from a litter that some meany threw over the bridge in a sack into the reek that bordered our property. He became my pet. At 15, I rescued the only surviving pup in a litter who were evidently just dumped-off in the woods on our land ... we never located the mother. The pup didn't live long from injuries from the abandonment. At 18 I rescued an abandoned shepherd mix that my mom later made me give up before I went to college. At 23 I rescued a kitten left abandoned by a neighbor who moved away. He became my pet. At 28, I rescued the blue jay. At 34 I rescued a grown Robin who literally flew into the tree trunk in my garden right when I was there working. It was unconscious about 5 hours. It took about 48 hours for it to resume to flying and return to the wild. At 37, i rescued an escaped/ lost blue parakeet. Oddly my husband had been trying to lure him down from the oak tree with pieces of oranges. But as soon as a arrived home and walked onto the deck he just flew down beside me and let me pick him up. We couldn't locate his owners, but either the excitement of being outside or he ate something wrong, because he croaked 2 days later. When we went to the pet store to get a cage and food until we could reunite him, we bought Coco - a snowy white female parakeet and brought her home. The blue parakeet was a male because he immediately started courting behavior. 42 we rescued goldfish from the 7th grade science teacher who had told my daughter's class she was throwing them away. We bought a hampster that had 9 babies !!! At 48 i rescued a nest of 6 baby rabbits that we fed until we could release at a community park. My grandson and I rescued a beta fish in 2019. Which doesn't count all the pets I've had from rabbits to cats to dogs to parakeets and dogs and hamsters and fish and geckos and a long long list of critters and insects I've temporarily captured and rereleased to the wild (skinks, salamanders, lizards, frogs, turtles, walking stick bugs, ladybugs, stink bugs, wheel bugs, butterflies, luna moths, sphinx moths, hummingbird moths, grasshoppers, giant millipedes, earthworms, praying mantises, grape beetles, and of course lightning bugs!! And the plethora of birds I've learned to attract to my garden... Sparrows, wrens, chicadees, northern chicadees, titmouses, nuthatches, jays, purple finches, yellow finches, cardinals, robins, mockingbirds, swallows, juncos, martins, red wing blackbirds, brewers blackbirds, cowbirds, hummingbirds, morning doves... Deer and rabbits and chipmunks are pleasing visitors. Of course starlings and crows squirrels, opossums are unintentional visitors. And we see owls, falcons, red tail hawks and occasionally a bald eagle as we live close to a large river. When I was a child i recall hearing bob whites on summer evenings.

It's great seeing these birds! We don't have Blue Jays in the PNW but the Stellar (which are darker blue ) and Gray Jays both which seem larger than your Blues. Please do a video on identifying male vs female crows!

the male has more blue on his neck. Males tend to be more colorful in bird kingdom

Great video !!!Thanks for explaining for us dear Lesley!!! :) I love learning things about birds and the bluejays are of my favorites birds next to the Alcyone (my profile photo) Take care of you and your lovely feather friends! Happy autummn, love and greetings from Greece !!! :) ♥ Yianna P.

I love the precision the jays used in catching those tossed peanuts! #JustEarth

Thanks for your video. I think you're clever telling them apart. But what is really brilliant is knowing their names. :)

I moved house, and now I miss my Bluejays after all my hard work getting them to eat from my hand. Fortunately, there are some Crows around at my new place and the neighbour has been feeding them for a while. They are getting to know me, and tend to gather when they see my car pull into the driveway. They are ALWAYS watching what I am up to. Lol

I guess as long as they know who’s who is all that matters! 😊

Great video, clear footage and very informative. Thank you!💙

Wow, fantastic video, VERY informative and interesting! My backyard has been compared to Omaha's Wild Kingdom (lol) as we have so many varieties of birds and other wild species of animals that frequent for either food and/or a safe place to rest/sleep (and we don't even live out in the country). So far, my husband and I have counted roughly 12-14 species of birds alone with Bluejays being the most abundant. I've always been fascinated and curious of their calls, who's male, who's female, territory, family life, etc. You've answered so many of my questions. Really appreciate your channel - thank you! 🙂

Thank you Lesley very informative I call the males call the pipe sound. It resembles a musical instrument God bless you Lesley

Thank you so much for sharing your love for birds. The videos are wonderful.

Unbelievable observations, years of research, amazing tips, thank you so much!🐦

I am so very glad to have found your channel. Your knowledge is extensive and much appreciated.

I think that you have done a wonderful job on this video. Thank you so much.

I love that you call one of the jays Cosmos. I had a betta named that once.

Orlando, Florida. Just have two Bluejays arrive for striped sunflower seeds. Will now try to ID male n female. Great video, Thank you!

I am an identical twin. The people that love me definitely know it is me. You have a talent to identify all your identical birds. It is simply because you pay attention to them and love them. Have you ever noticed that groups you are not fond of all look alike? Well........there you go!

thanks so much for the informative video! I have been trying to figure this one out for a long time. now, at least I know what to LISTEN for. happy birding!

My husband and I bought some peanuts for our squirrels this year and we noticed that the Blue Jays ate them and loved them more than our squirrels did! You are so blessed to be able to and feed birds! How awesome is that! And it's amazing that you can tell them apart and have given them names!

Amazing how they'll eat out of your hand! That must have taken a long time to get them to trust you that much.

Thanks for making this video, it’s great! We raised a little baby and I always wondered if it was a boy or girl. I’ve definitely heard “her” do a rattle call along with all the other talking she does. I’m very proud of little Reynaldo. Lol

I appreciate the purity of heart of this whole thing. It warmed my heart, for sure! Story time.. I’ve recently given lots of my attention to watching/photographing my backyard birds. I’ve especially enjoyed the Blue Jay’s (if you can’t tell). Thank you for a great & informative video!

Thank you for this video. I just befriended a Blue Jay yesterday, in my backyard. Today, he brought a date. I realized one was male and the other female thanks to your video. I also named my male Blue Jay, Blue. Haven't named the female yet.... Thank you again.

Just discovered your channel. Thanks. I love the birds and am learning a lot from your talks.

I just found you and subscribed. Now I am binge watching! I made some observations with birds as well, but you have really got me on the Blue Jays! Love your channel and would love to go birding with you!

Great too and thanks as well ;personally I find birds and their ways much more interesting than people but that’s just Me !!

Thank you. Explained well, kept my interest & enjoyed your voice.

Great video. 😍 Love jays.

I love them standing on the camera lol.

Amazing birds, very interesting channel. Thank you.

Oh this is so lovely! First saw on on Google search: trying to watercolour a bluebird flying and was so frustrated with the (what looks like) "dots" on some wings and stripes on others. (They're stripes, but ...not? 😩 ) Well, this video caught my interest! My mother's and neighbors shooed away blue jays because they want other birds in their yard (and they also do the adding ducklings to public ponds and so forth). *But I loved blue jays!* I've never seen so many together, and that one, Abby, is just a BIG PUFF OF WHITE CUTENESS! (I don't know what their lifespans are so let me think they live 80 years and Abby's just gotten more puffy and adorbs since this video was made!) Subbed, and can't wait to figure out how to get birds to my home now! Summer 2021, mid-Atlantic, huge maple tree dominates the yard now (it's got to get trimmed now: branches nearing the pool!) but there's a little river dividing our property with lots of trees and paths; few snakes. We mostly see black birds (which is fine), but I know little about birds. Learning watercolour is increasing my knowledge of lots of things! (I still don't get the round spots on blue jays' feathers though. Baffling!)

It seemed like all the males had more blue on there neck.. Good video!

I have been feeding squirrels for awhile to entertain my kitty cat but a few days ago I had a few blue jays that took the show over. Lol my cat is loving life and the squirrels are old news. I love how they know after I let my dog out what will be waiting for them at the doorstep.

From what I see within the video, it looks like the males neck (above the black markings) has some blue there. None of the females had this. Very nice video

A good video iam a bird watcher in England iam learning about the American birds over there thanks 👍🏻

I'm pretty good at making the "Squeaky Gate Call" it gets their attention.

Main takeaway is that Males are larger. Also, your camera work is impeccable. Thanks for the info :-)

Something not mentioned that I saw is the males have a darker and more prominent blue band above their black line on their throat. So just above that blue stripe, all the males seemed to have a bigger and brighter blue fluff.

Leslie, your videos are great. I really enjoy them.

That video taught me so much. Tysm I can say it's one over the best I have ever seen!

Thank you for this very special and knowledgeable presentation. I so love it. I am watching my blue jays with new information.

I never knew this! I believe I have a pair in my yard since I see too following each other into go to the backyard! Also great names for each of them:)

I learned a lot about the Beautiful Blue Jay from you. Thank you for the Educational opportunity.

My daughter and I were hanging out laundry this morning and the Blue Jays were in our tree calling each other. We decided to learn more and found your video. Thank you!

I haven't seen a BLUEJAY ALL YEAR HERE IN CONNECTICUT, THIS IS VERY STRANGE..... I LIVED HERE 60 YEARS, AND FEED THEM EVERY YEAR.......

THANK YOU FOR THIS! I have tons of blue jays in my backyard there's probably at least 10 that I know of I love them they're very friendly and come very close. 💙💙💙

So gorgeous!!

Their a great show of natures Beauty.

Love your jay videos! One of my favorite birds

Awesome video You are a special person for sure.

Love your videos Lesley. We have a tribe of Blue Jays hanging around our yard this year eating out of our feeders and using the bird bath ... which they love. They can be annoyingly noisy first thing in the morning but we get a great deal of enjoyment watching them throughout the day. Thanks for sharing with us.

We have three different sizes of Jays here in the Seattle area. The largest one almost as big as a Crow. They all love to come visit when we lay out about 50 peanuts. The fun is watching them pick up a peanut, testing its weight. They will pick up several and then go back to the biggest one pick it up and and fly off. Fun game they play and we enjoy watching!