Phenotype of the jay

Here we explain what the jay looks like and how its coloration changes with age.

Jay: what is it like

The young Bohemian waxwing has a short, soft yellow bill and grey, fluffy plumage without bright blue markings. After a period of rapid growth, the young species develops blue spots on its wings and black stripes on its head. An adult Eurasian jay possesses a strong black bill suited for cracking nuts and catching insects. The adult’s body is pinkish-brown, with a white head featuring black stripes, and bright blue spots with black and white stripes on its wings; the tail is black. Wide wings enable the species to fly quickly between trees.

Mass
49.05–59.95 g
Length
320–350 mm
Lifespan
3698–6164 days 10–17 years
25354
0
1
bohemian-waxwing
en
bohemian waxwing
Garrulus glandarius
The Eurasian jay is a medium-sized bird from the crow family. It has a pinkish-brown body, black moustaches on the head, and bright blue patches on the wings.
The common jay differs from other corvids with bright blue patches on its wings and a loud creaking cry. It is important for nature because it spreads and buries acorns, helping new oaks grow.
forages for food on the ground and on trees, cracks hard food with its beak
trophic:omnivore
#faf8f1
Mass (adult bird)
140–190 g
Mass (nestling)
10–80 g
Mass (fledgling)
120–160 g
Mass (egg)
4–7 g
Length (fledgling)
250–320 mm
Length (nestling)
50–150 mm
Length (egg)
0–30 mm
Length (adult bird)
320–350 mm
Wingspan
540 mm
Wings size (adult bird)
0.5–0.55 mm
3698.15625
6163.59375
4613.993953184871
6591.419933121246
320.0
350.0
49.050000000000004
59.95
Worker
Were {name} like {animal}, then:
birth time
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult bird
Maturity
plant
invertebrates
insects
About health
anything
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
land coast flooded by tides — salt marshes, littoral zone
aerial
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses jaws or beak to break hard-shelled or tough food items.
conifer cones
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
Palearctic realm
Upcoming birthdays
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Feeding occurs in open air space above ground or water.
Wings size
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
berries
More:
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
fledgling
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
gleaning
flight
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
juicy berries — bilberry, rowan, rosehip
Lots of rain and cool summer
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
terrestrial intertidal
Flooded grasslands
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Share
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
if born as {name}
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
omnivore
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
{name} birthday
Link copied
No results found
omnivory, they eat plants, animals, and mushrooms — almost any food
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0 Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
nuts
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
nestling
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
spiders
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Plumage color
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Always very wet
Gamers
crushing
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
Who among us will transform as if by magic and become like {animal}?
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Capturing or collecting food while airborne.
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
egg
Carrot
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
arboreal
Observations
hard nuts — acorns, hazelnuts, pine nuts
◉{N} more on tap
nestling
pupa
imago
young bird
bohemian-waxwing
sojka
adi-zig-zig
qyq-awrasy
sojka-zvychajnaya
antarayin-kac-agak
kakesu
chkhik-vi
sojka
yulasia-eochi
saj-sagyzgan
kreja
kukkanat
sojka
song-ya