What is the difference between a jay and a magpie

Jays on the other hand, don't seem to have the same reputation at all. Some seem to welcome Jays in the garden, but not Magpies I welcome all wildlife.

Now I've been feeding Jays nuts in shells for years, they've never troubled other birds, in fact they get scared off by the Pigeons sometimes. I'm aware that Jays are just as opportunist as other Corvids, but I've never actually witnessed any predatory behaviour, until today About an hour ago I heard the alarm calls I'm used to hearing when a Sparrowhawk attacks. The Sparrows were going mad, and so was a Blackbird. So I looked out and saw nothing, no Sparrowhawk, no Cats, nothing. Then I saw small feathers floating down from high in the tree, so I looked up and saw nothing at first.

So I got my binoculars and looked again, expecting to see a Sparrowhawk in the tree eating a Sparrow. But it wasn't a Sparrowhawk, it was a Jay.

The Jay didn't care I was watching, as it was high up, it was plucking either a Sparrow, or perhaps a nestling Blackbird. I'm really not sure, as it was too deep in the tree, and the light wasn't good enough to make out the prey clearly.

But from what I could see, the prey was no bigger than a Starling. I watched the Jay plucking and eating, the feathers still floating down, for about 20 minutes, then it flew off.

I think it took it's meal with it, but I'm not sure. Perhaps what's left will fall out of the tree later, and I might have a better idea what the Jay killed. There's a bit more to this story, as I'm pretty sure I know why the Jay took a bird instead of the nuts today.

My neighbour is in the garden digging close to my fence. The Jays land on, or bounce off of, my fence before they land in the garden. So today the Jays are too nervous to get the nuts, so went for a bird instead. Wigwam Active member. Rooney is great though. DunnoKev Guest. ChrisKten said:. Click to expand Able to thrive in a wide variety of environments, crows are expanding into urban areas and habitats created by farming, forestry, and other human alterations.

In Oregon, the American crow is a very common resident west of the Cascades in interior valleys, urban areas, and along the coast and is a fairly common resident throughout the Coast Range lowlands and in the west cascade foothills. It is abundant in the south Willamette Valley, with records distributed evenly throughout the year. Ravens are clever, innovative, and entertaining.

They quickly exploit human-created opportunities for food and shelter. Their spectacular aerial acrobatics conducted under windy or thermal conditions appear to be an act of fun. The Common raven's plumage is entirely shiny black like the American crow, but the ravens appear 25 percent larger, have a wedge-shaped tail and have deeper croaks and other calls than the American crow.

In Oregon, the Common raven is a fairly common, widespread resident in many habitats throughout the state; population densities are highest east of the Cascades. Current bird and wildlife viewing opportunities. Updated weekly by wildlife biologists throughout the state. Crows, Jays and Magpies. Marine Life. Wildlife Viewing. Oregon has nine species of jays, crows and magpies.

Types of Crows, Jays and Magpies. Gray jay. Perisoreus canadensis. Steller's jay. Cyanocitta stelleri. Blue jay. Cyanocitta cristata. Hear the call of the Blue jay Photo by Dawn, Flickr.

Western scrub-jay. Aphelocoma californica. Pinon jay. Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus. The haunting cries of these wanderers evoke a variety of reactions from curiosity to wonder. The eggs of the Jay are about 32 mm by 23 mm in size, and are smooth, glossy, and pale blue-green or olive with buff-coloured speckles.

The duties of incubating the eggs are performed by the female. The newly-hatched young are fed by both adults. The majority of the British population is sedentary, but Continental birds are irruptive when there is a poor acorn harvest and may arrive in large numbers along the east coast of Britain in the autumn. Like other crows, the Jay was persecuted by gamekeepers in its traditional habitat where it took the eggs and young birds of game birds, but also by fishermen who used its brightly coloured feathers for fly-fishing.

The move into urban woodlands has provided them with a safer habitat and, compared with the Jays in the countryside, Jays in towns are doing well. The downside is that Jays may soon be hated as much as Magpies as more people witness them taking eggs and young birds.

Eurasian Jay Both sexes: Pinkish brown, white chin, black moustache, and blue patch on wings. Primary Covert of Jay. In Flight.