Blue jays are beautiful, intelligent birds that seem like they would make fun and interesting pets. Their bright blue feathers and loud, musical calls catch everyone’s attention. But is it legal or ethical to keep one as a pet?
Let’s take a deeper look into what’s involved with owning one of these wild songbirds.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: In most areas, it is illegal to keep native wild blue jays as pets. Blue jays are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. However, in some locations it may be possible to get a permit for an injured, non-releasable blue jay.
Blue Jay Biology and Behavior
Physical Description
Blue jays are medium-sized songbirds, measuring 9-12 inches (23-30 cm) in length with a wingspan of 13-17 inches (34-43 cm). Their plumage is primarily blue, white, and black. The face has a white cheek patch bordered by a blue crest, nape, and throat. The back and tail are blue with black barring.
Wings are blue with white and black spots. The underside is grayish-white. Strong legs and feet are black. The blue jay’s blue coloring is due to light refraction through the feather barbules rather than pigmentation. Females and males have similar plumage.
Blue jays are highly intelligent and social birds that mate for life. They live in family groups and communicate with a wide range of calls and body language. Their strong beaks allow them to crack nuts and acorns. Blue jays can mimic the calls of hawks to deceive other birds.
They are also vocal thieves, copying noises from their environment. These vocal capabilities showcase their advanced communication skills.
Habitat and Diet
Blue jays inhabit mixed hardwood and coniferous forests across most of North America. They prefer areas with oak trees but adapt to different forest ecosystems. Most blue jays do not migrate but may make short trips to store food.
Their year-round residence enables them to stash nuts and seeds for the winter.
Blue jays have an omnivorous diet consisting of insects, nuts, seeds, fruits, eggs, and small vertebrates. Acorns from oak trees are a preferred food source. Jays sometimes raid nests for eggs and nestlings. Their strong beak allows them to peck into acorns and other nuts.
Jays store food in short-term caches and have excellent spatial memory to recover thousands of items.
Adaptability to Captivity
While intelligent and social, blue jays are not well suited for captivity as pets. Their natural habitats provide the space, social structure, and stimulation required for their well-being. Confinement, isolation, and improper diet can cause jays to develop neurotic behaviors like feather plucking.
Blue jays are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Taking a blue jay from the wild and keeping it as a pet is illegal without proper permits. While blue jays may seem like interesting companion birds, their complex needs are difficult to meet in captivity outside of zoos or wildlife rehabilitation.
Noisy Nature
Blue jays are known for their intelligence, beauty, and boisterousness. They have a large repertoire of loud, far-carrying calls. Their “jay jay” warning calls alert other birds to predators. Disputes between jays often erupt in raucous scolding matches.
Their screams, chattering, imitations, and mimics provide a noisy backdrop in forests and backyards.
While their loud vocalizations may annoy some humans, blue jay calls are an essential part of their social communication and survival. Their screams likely evolved to signal alarm when threatened. As highly social and territorial birds, noisy disagreements help resolve conflicts over space and resources.
Understanding the context and meaning of blue jay vocalizations can help bird enthusiasts appreciate their unique voices.
Legalities of Keeping Blue Jays
Federal and State Laws
Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are native songbirds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to keep them as pets without proper permits in the United States. Penalties can include fines up to $15,000 and even imprisonment up to 6 months.
Additionally, many states have laws prohibiting ownership of native wildlife like blue jays. For example, the state of New York bans possession of native birds unless they are acquired from a licensed breeder. Breaking this law can result in fines up to $500.
Rehabilitation Permits
It is legal to temporarily keep an injured blue jay for rehabilitation purposes if you get the proper permits. Federally licensed wildlife rehabilitators can apply to their state wildlife agency for these permits.
However, the goal must be to release healthy birds back into the wild once they recover.
Those without rehabilitation permits cannot legally keep or attempt to treat sick, injured, or orphaned blue jays themselves. These birds must be immediately transferred to licensed rehab facilities upon discovery.
Non-Native Species
The blue jay’s exotic relatives like the African blue Pied crow are not protected under federal wildlife laws. So it may be legal to own them as pets depending on your state’s exotic animal regulations.
Still, keeping non-releasable native wildlife like blue jays is generally illegal without proper licensing.
Housing and Care Requirements
Enclosure Size and Layout
Blue jays require a very spacious enclosure to thrive in captivity. The recommended minimum dimensions are 5 ft wide by 5 ft deep by 7 ft tall to allow adequate flying room. The bigger the cage, the better!
Include plenty of horizontal branches for perching interspersed throughout the enclosure at different heights. Natural tree branches work great. Position perches to encourage flying between them. Blue jays enjoy puzzles and challenges, so incorporate interesting cage furnishings for mental stimulation.
Proper Diet
In the wild, blue jays eat a varied omnivorous diet consisting of seeds, nuts, fruits, insects, frogs, eggs and nestlings. Their captive diet should mimic this as much as possible. A basic blue jay diet consists of:
- High quality wild bird seed mix
- Chopped nuts like peanuts, almonds and walnuts
- Chopped fruits such as apples, grapes, oranges and bananas
- Live mealworms and crickets for protein
- Hard boiled eggs for protein and nutrients like calcium
- Pellets specifically formulated for omnivorous songbirds
Provide fresh food and water daily. Clean water should always be available in a suspended water container. Variety is essential to keep captive blue jays healthy and stimulated.
Enrichment
Mental stimulation is critically important for intelligent, inquisitive birds like blue jays. Rotate new bird-safe toys into the enclosure regularly to prevent boredom. Good options include swings, mirrors, bells, wood chew toys, treat balls and puzzle feeders.
Allow plenty of out-of-cage time for exercise and fun. Supervise blue jays closely when loose to prevent escapes and household mischief!
| Enrichment Item | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Shredding toys | Satisfy urge to shred |
| Bell toys | Allow natural vocalizing |
| Swings | Encourage exercise |
| Treat puzzles | Provide mental stimulation |
A lack of enrichment causes stress, feather-picking and other problems. Ensure your blue jay companion leads an active, engaging lifestyle every day.
Vet Care
Despite their stunning blue plumage suggesting excellent health, blue jays commonly suffer from conditions like obesity, atherosclerosis, arthritis, fatty liver disease and more in captivity according to the Lafeber veterinary website.
Establish care with an exotics-focused avian vet right away, not just for illnesses but wellness exams too. Expect to visit your vet for routine bloodwork, parasite checks, nail trims and beak grinding. Having a “medical home” greatly benefits pet blue jays over the long term.
Alternatives to Keeping Blue Jays
Appreciating Wild Blue Jays
Blue jays are beautiful, intelligent birds that bring joy to backyard bird watchers across North America. While their striking blue feathers and raucous calls make them fun to observe, blue jays are not well-suited to life as pets in captivity.
Here are some great ways to enjoy wild blue jays without keeping them as pets:
- Put up bird feeders and bird houses in your yard to attract blue jays to visit. Offer peanuts, sunflower seeds, suet, and fruits to entice them.
- Observe their behavior and take notes on their calls, flight patterns, feeding habits, and interactions with other birds. You can participate in citizen science programs like the Great Backyard Bird Count to contribute data.
- Photograph blue jays in action in your yard. Their bright blue plumage makes wonderful photo subjects.
- Learn to identify their various calls and understand their meanings. Blue jays have a diverse vocabulary of sounds.
- Plant native trees and shrubs that provide habitat and food sources blue jays rely on, like oak, cherry, buckeye, and dogwood.
Appreciating blue jays in their natural environment allows you to study their behaviors, diet, family interactions, and place in the ecosystem without removing them from the wild. Supporting wild backyard blue jays can be extremely rewarding.
Other Bird Species
While blue jays don’t make good pets, there are some other bird species that can adapt well to life interacting with humans. Good pet bird choices include:
- Budgies (parakeets)
- Cockatiels
- Lovebirds
- Parrotlets
- Canaries
- Finches
Key things to consider if getting a pet bird include: their typical noise level, lifespan, space and enrichment needs, diet, potential talking ability, and typical temperament. Be sure to only obtain pet birds from reputable breeders, not from the wild.
Research the specific care needs of any species you are interested in fully before adopting. Join avian care communities to learn from other experienced pet bird owners as well.
While blue jays aren’t an ideal choice, there are many bird species that can thrive when properly cared for. Loving a wild blue jay family in your own backyard can be a profoundly rewarding alternative.
Conclusion
While blue jays possess many qualities that would seem to make them excellent pets, the fact is that federal law protects them as native wild animals. Removing a blue jay from the wild or acquiring one illegally can also have serious consequences.
However, it is possible to apply for licenses to care for an injured blue jay that cannot be released. Otherwise, the best way to enjoy these birds is by attracting them to your yard, joining a birding group, or visiting aviaries and sanctuaries that care for non-releasable birds.
