What Do Jays Eat? (Eurasian Jay Diet)

With their distinctive electric blue wing feathers and piercing screech, the Eurasian jay is an instantly recognizable presence in the woodland canopy they inhabit. For those familiar with Latin, the scientific name for the Eurasian jay, Gland Warbler, gives an important hint that tree nuts are an important part of their diet. So let’s get started, what do jays eat?

Although jays are omnivorous, their favorite food is acorns, which they collect in the fall, bury in their basements, and dig them up in the winter to eat. If acorns are not available, they will seek out other nuts and seeds to eat, but will also feed on grubs, small rodents, frogs and other birds and their eggs.

The jay, whose Latin name means “chatter” (Garrulus) and “from the acorn” (glandarius), is a resourceful bird. They base their dietary preferences on the foods that are most abundant, and seem to have unmatched foresight for future plans.

Acorns are one of the favorite foods of jays

Jays can often be seen hopping on the woodland floor in search of fresh acorns, which they carry away and hide under fallen leaves, in tree crevices and in holes dug with their beaks.

One of Britain’s smartest birds, they have an enviable ability to recall where they stash their prized trophies, which can amount to thousands of acorns each year.

When their favorite acorns are in short supply, jays can become somewhat aloof and opportunistic scavengers, foraging for insects, larvae, caterpillars, other invertebrates, and carrion. They are also known to prey on small mammals, eating young birds when the opportunity presents itself, and taking chicks and eggs from other birds’ nests.

Read on to learn more about the fascinating eating habits of these super-smart crows.

How do jays find food?

In the fall, jays are busy foraging for acorns under oak trees, collecting as many as they can, and some birds will fly miles to visit a tree with a good harvest. They break open the shells with their beaks, eat what they need, and bury the rest in various “cache” locations.

In winter, when fresh acorn resources start to dwindle, they revisit their collections and rely on these as their primary food source throughout winter and spring.

During the summer months, they eat a mixed diet consisting of berries and seeds, caterpillars, and worms. Jays are skilled mimics and can imitate birds of prey, a cunning tactic they use to scare away other hunters and catch prey for themselves. They can be particularly ruthless predators when they target young birds in nests.

A Eurasian jay looking for nuts to store in cache

What time of day do jays eat?

Jays forage all day long and can be seen foraging for acorns in the woodlands from early morning till dark. In the fall, they are especially busy and active foragers, feeding constantly while orchestrating highly organized hoarding tasks.

What do jays eat in winter?

When winter arrives, the jays come to rely on the thousands of acorns they were busy burying earlier in the fall. Research estimates that each winter, more than 3,000 acorns are hidden for later consumption. They rely on their impressive recall abilities to retrieve their stash from their hiding places, a food source that can get them through the coldest months of the year.

Other nuts and seeds that jays may stash in this way include beech and sweet chestnuts. Sometimes, inevitably, some hoarded acorns go undetected and germinate into seedlings.

Jay eats nuts in the winter snow

What do birds eat in summer?

During summer, when acorn supplies are in short supply and winter stores are depleted, jays need to find alternative food sources. This time of year, jays may rely more on mealworms, beetles, caterpillars and other invertebrates for food. They may take chicks or eggs from the nest, and they may prey on small rodents, frogs, and bats. Roadkill and carrion are also part of a jay’s natural diet.

What does little jay eat?

Baby jays are fed a high-protein diet by their parents, including larvae, mealworms, and crickets. Eggs and chicks from other birds’ nests can also be used as a high-protein food source for young birds during the summer.

Young Eurasian Jay feeding in the garden

What can I feed a jay?

Jays that come to the garden feeder will eat any nuts or seeds left for them, such as sunflower seeds, monkey nuts, or peanuts. They also eat suet.

How often do jays eat?

Jays are very active birds and can be seen foraging from early morning to early evening. If they find a plentiful food source, they will tend to eat as much as they want, then take the rest away and stash it for later.

Eurasian jay in flight

How do I attract jays to my garden?

In the past, jays were rarely seen foraging in urban back gardens. However, with the knock-on effects of oak decline and reduced acorn supply, jays have had to diversify and find alternative food sources, including any nuts, seeds or mealworms that are missing from garden feeders and the birds’ table.

Providing these treats in your garden, along with birdbaths filled with fresh water, will help attract these colorful talents to your backyard. It can help leave larger food scraps on the ground, serving as a visual “signpost” that food is available.

Jays are highly elusive birds that are most likely to visit home gardens close to their natural woodland habitat, with nearby tree cover, because they do not like to be outdoors for long periods of time.

Do jays eat on the ground?

Jays are often seen hopping around the ground in search of food. They forage on the ground and in trees, but it’s not uncommon to see them at bird feeders or off-the-ground feeding stations if they’ve found their favorite food source there.

It is not uncommon for pairs of jays to forage together on the ground, or even in groups of three, especially in winter or spring.

peanut picking jay

Do jays eat seeds?

Jays feed on a variety of seeds and berries that they forage, including blackberries, rowan berries, sunflower seeds, and seeds from a variety of coniferous and deciduous trees.

what does jay drink

Jays only drink water. They will be able to get some of their nutrition from food, but also depend on drinking water from puddles, ponds, and birdbaths in the garden.

jay drinking water

Do Jays Eat Bird Eaters?

Jays are able to feed from garden feeders as well as bird tables and feeding platforms. They are also adept at knocking hanging feeders to the ground and emptying their contents for easy access.

Jay Chou Diet FAQs

Do jays eat other birds?

While acorns and other nuts are the preferred food source for jays, they also feed on small birds, including nestlings and fledglings, and bird eggs, especially in spring and summer.

Do jays eat monkey nuts?

Jays love to eat any kind of nut and have been known to take monkey nuts whole in their beaks, choosing to bury them for later consumption. They were able to open the shells without issue.

Do jays eat peanuts?

Peanuts are a popular human food source for jays and a welcome substitute when acorns are scarce. Jays will eat peanuts from garden bird feeders or feeding stations.

Eurasian jay at a bird feeder, eating sunflower seeds

Do jays eat mealworms?

Jays do eat mealworms, as well as other larvae, grubs, and insects. Mealworms are more often a part of the jay’s diet in summer than in winter.

Do jays eat snails?

Like other corvids, jays eat snails and slugs, although these are not a major or preferred part of their diet.

Do jays eat mice?

Small rodents, including mice and voles, do form part of the jay’s extensive diet. Although they feed primarily on nuts, jays are resourceful hunters and will prey on small mammals when the opportunity presents itself.