Montana Field Guide

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Montana Field Guides

Home - Other Field Guides
- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Birds - Aves
      - Order - Songbirds - Passeriformes
        
        Family - Jays / Crows / Magpies - Corvidae
        
        Species - Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)

Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA
USFS:
BLM:
PIF:

External Links

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State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)

Species is relatively common within suitable habitat and widely distributed across portions of the state. Abundance appears to have increased in recent years, and there are no known threats.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) Conservation Status Summary
State Rank: S5
Review Date = 01/28/2025
See the complete Conservation Status Rank Report

How we calculate Conservation Status Ranks

General Description

Small, crested jay. Total length 25 to 30 cm; mass 70 to 100g. Sexes are alike in plumage and size. Upperparts are various shades of blue with wings and tail boldly marked with black bars and white types. Head with crest. Underparts grayish white with black U-shaped collar across upper breast and sides of neck joining a black eye-line . Tail is fairly long and graduated (Tarvin and Woolfenden 1999).

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Species Range

Montana Range Range Descriptions

Year-round

Western Hemisphere Range

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 7289

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)

Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)

Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Habitat

Primarily inhabits deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests and woodlands. Common in towns and residential areas, especially those having large oaks or other mast-producing trees (Tarvin and Woolfenden 1999).

National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species

Forest and Woodland

Deciduous Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Aspen Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Mesic Forest and Woodland

Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland

Low Elevation - Xeric Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Ponderosa Pine Forest and Woodland

Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forest and Woodland

Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland

Cedar - Hemlock Forest

Dry Spruce-fir Forest

Interior PNW Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland

Lodgepole Pine Forest

Montane Mesic Coniferous (Grand Fir - Douglas-fir - Western Larch) Forest

Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir Forest

Whitebark Pine - Subalpine Larch Forest and Woodland

Shrubland

Foothills - Montane Shrubland

Mountain Mahogany Woodland and Shrubland

Sagebrush Shrubland

Basin and Wyoming Big (Threetip) Sagebrush Shrubland

Mountain Big Sagebrush Shrubland

Wetland and Riparian

Riparian and Wetland Forest

Great Plains Floodplain Forest

Lowland - Montane Riparian Deciduous Forest

Montane - Subalpine Riparian Forest

Montane Forested Wetland

Riparian Shrubland

Great Plains Floodplain Shrubland and Herbland

Lowland - Montane Riparian Shrubland

Recently Disturbed or Modified

Harvested Forest

Recently Logged

Insect-Killed Forest

Recent Insect/Disease Damage

Human Land Use

Agriculture

Cultivated Crops, Dryland

Irrigated Agriculture

Developed

Developed - Low and Medium Intensity

Developed - Vegetation

Food Habits

Arthropods, acorns and other nuts, soft fruits, seeds, small vertebrates. Blue jays also quickly learn to take food provided by humans (Tarvin and Woolfenden 1999).

Ecology

The range is expanding rapidly in the western U.S. (Smith 1978).

Reproductive Characteristics

Studies conducted in suburban settings have reported two broods per season to be common. Nests found in deciduous or coniferous trees. Clutch size is 2 to 7 eggs, typically 4 to 6 in northern populations. Peak laying ranges from early April in the south to mid-May in the north (Tarvin and Woolfenden 1999).

Stewardship Responsibility

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
- Smith, K.G. 1978. Range extension of the blue jay into western North America. Bird-Banding 49:208-214.
- Tarvin, K.A. and G.E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Species Account Number 469. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved 3/25/2008 from The Birds of North America Online database
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
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- American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
- DuBois, K.L. 1979. An inventory of the avifauna in the Long Pines of Southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 113 p.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Faanes, C.A. 1983. Breeding birds of wooded draws in western North Dakota. Prairie Nat. 15(4): 173-187.
- Gniadek, S. 1983. Southwest Glendive Wildlife Baseline Inventory. Miles City, Mont: Bureau of Land Management, Miles City District Office. 56 pp with appendices.
- Godfrey, W. Earl. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa. 428 pp.
- Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- Hejl, S.J., R.L. Hutto, C.R. Preston, and D.M. Finch. 1995. The effects of silvicultural treatments on forest birds in the Rocky Mountains. pp. 220-244 In: T.E. Martin and D.M. Finch (eds). Ecology and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press. 489 p.
- Hoffmann, R.S., R.L. Hand, and P.L. Wright. 1959. Recent bird records from western Montana. The Condor 61(2):147-151.
- Johnsgard, P.A. 1992. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. xi + 504 pp.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Knopf, F.L. 1986. Changing landscapes and the cosmopolitism of the eastern Colorado avifauna. Wildlife Society Bulletin 14(2):132-142.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- Lyons, T.P., J.R. Miller, D.M. Debinski, and D.M. Engle. 2014. Predator identity influences the effect of habitat management on nest predation. Ecological Applications 25(6): 1596-1605.
- Madge, S. and H. Burn. 1994. Crows and Jays: A guide to crows, jays, and magpies of the world. Houghton Mifflin Company, N.Y. 191 pp.
- Martin, T.E. 1988. Habitat and area effects on forest bird assemblages: is nest predation an influence? Ecology 69(1):74-84.
- Matthews, W.L. 1980a. Wibaux-Beach comparison study: Sydney, Glendive and Plevna Study Areas. Bureau of Land Management, Miles City, MT. 50 p.
- Matthews, W.L. 1981. Broadus-Pumpkin Creek baseline inventory - wildlife. Bureau of Land Management, Miles City, MT. 83 p.
- Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
- Oechsli, L.M. 2000. Ex-urban development in the Rocky Mountain West: consequences for native vegetation, wildlife diversity, and land-use planning in Big Sky, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 73 p.
- Ralph, J.C., J.R. Sauer, and S. Droege. 1995. Monitoring bird populations by point counts. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-149. Albany, CA: USDA Pacific Southwest Research Station. 181 p.
- Sater, S. 2022. The insects of Sevenmile Creek, a pictorial guide to their diversity and ecology. Undergraduate Thesis. Helena, MT: Carroll College. 242 p.
- Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
- Skaar, P. D., D. L. Flath, and L. S. Thompson. 1985. Montana bird distribution. Montana Academy of Sciences Monograph 3(44): ii-69.
- Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
- Stewart, R.E. 1975. Breeding birds of North Dakota. Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, North Dakota. 295 pp.
- Stewart, R.E. and H.A. Kantrud. 1972. Population estimates of breeding birds in North Dakota. The Auk 89(4):766-788.
- Taylor, D.M. and C.H. Trost. 1987. The status of historically rare of unrecorded birds in Idaho. Unpublished manuscript. 68 p.
- Thompson, W. L. 1993. Ecology of Merriam's Turkeys in relation to burned and logged areas in southeastern Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 195 p.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
- Waldt, R. 1995. The Pine Butte Swamp Preserve bird list. Choteau, MT: The Nature Conservancy. Updated August 1995.
- Watts, C.R. and L.C. Eichhorn. 1981. Changes in the birds of central Montana. Proceedings of the Montana Academy of Sciences 40:31-40.
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Citation for data on this website:
Blue Jay — Cyanocitta cristata. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on December 13, 2025, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABPAV02020