u/Savings_Plastic9224

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Ranges mostly east of the Rockies from Canada south to Mexico. My favorite NA native bird, and during most of my lifetime, the most abundant corvid in the NE US. They were decimated here by Proventricus Worms (Dispharynx nasuta), starting in the mid 1970s, and then by West Nile Virus, and by Baylisascaris procyonis, a parasitic roundworm carried by Northern Raccoons, as these mammals evolved to widespread synanthropy. They have largely recovered. but don't approach their abundance during the 1960s. Their most familiar calls are their very loud and harsh advertising and alarm/mobbing screams, but they have many other softer calls, and are actually very pleasant singers. Few people know this because they usually sing under cover. As with all corvids, both males and females sing, and they start singing at fledging age. They can also mimic, and hand reared Blue Jays readily mimic Human speech and whistling.