Blue-jay

Blue-jay (Cyanocitta cristata), a common North American bird of the Crow family, and occupying in the New World the place held by the jays (Garrulus) of the Old. In the United States the blue-jay is sometimes persecuted, sometimes protected, becoming as shy and cunning in the one case, as he is familiar and impudent in the other. They are mischievous birds, but devour large numbers of injurious caterpillars. The length of the bird is almost a foot; the colour is 'grayish purple above, black on the neck, lilac-brown to white below.' The common blue-jay has a wide distribution, and there are several other North American species. The long-tailed blue-jays belong to a rarer genus (Xanthurus) found in Central and in South America. See JAY.