Yorkshire is home to a wonderful variety of birds, but there are none quite so elusive as the most colourful member of the crow family – the jay.

Jays are shy woodland birds, rarely moving far from cover, and their screaming call is most likely to be heard as they fly between trees – make sure to watch out for a flash of a bright white rump as you follow the sound.

They are easier to spot in the autumn months as they break cover to look for food, and their pinkish plumage and striking blue and black barring on the wing means they are often mistaken for exotic birds. Jays often move in pairs and their mate may be close by, so keep still, watch and listen if you think you’ve spotted one.

Babbler of the acorns

Jays eat invertebrates, especially caterpillars and beetles, and are partial to acorns and other nuts and fruits during the autumn. True to their shy nature, jays can plant or cache up to 5000 acorns at this time of year, especially by bushes or trees where their activity can unobserved.

These famously screechy birds, whose scientific name means “babbler of the acorns”, also make the effort to cache in quieter locations and will keep quiet when there’s a chance to pilfer from another. They are impressive mimics, and have been known to copy other woodland birds, buzzards, and even cats and cattle.

Jays mate for life and maintain a strong pair bond through mutual feeding. Attentive males will carefully observe their partners to determine which food they most desire.

The acorns that jays collect and bury ready for the winter ahead often get forgotten. Jays have been recorded carrying single acorns as far as 20 km, and are credited with the rapid northward spread of oaks following the last ice age – and may be helping us again today...

Rewilding champion

Like other corvids, the jay has been maligned as a pest for centuries due to its predation of other birds’ nests. However, it is now being hailed as the new champion of reforestation in the UK. The jay is playing a crucial role in passive rewilding by burying thousands of acorns each year; nature is slowly reclaiming land that was once managed and farmed.

A recent study in 2021 found that half of the trees in two new woodlands in lowland England had most likely been planted by jays caching their food!

You can spot (or at the very least, hear!) jays at Allerthorpe Common nature reserve near York, Potteric Carr nature reserve near Doncaster and Broadhead Clough near Hebden Bridge – take a moment to dwell a while and enjoy the change of the autumn colours, and see what else you can hear.