Jay

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Jay, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Green listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(III), WBD(II*)

The UK Jay population remained stable in the species' preferred woodland habitat until the late 1980s, after which the population began to decline. This decrease followed an earlier decline on farmland CBC plots (Gregory & Marchant 1996). With the losses since the 1980s now regained, long-term trends are stable overall. The BBS map of change in relative density between 1994-96 and 2007-09 indicates that increases occurred almost everywhere during this period, with the exception of parts of central southern England. Mean brood size appears to have increased by half a chick since 1968, and nest success has also improved, so the number of fledglings per breeding attempt has increased, though all demographic measures are based on small samples. There has been an increase across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

No population change in UK (1967–2022)

Jay distribution within Britain & Ireland is thought to be constrained by woodland cover and climatic conditions.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	2106
% occupied in breeding season	70
No. occupied in winter	2200
% occupied in winter	73

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in

Deciduous Wood

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Jay's winter distribution has expanded since the 1981–84 Winter Atlas, with an 86% range expansion in Ireland and a 16% expansion in Britain, where there have been major gains in Scotland.

Jay is recorded throughout the year but detections peak in autumn when birds disperse or are actively seen caching food for the winter.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	16 years 9 months 19 days (set in 1983)
Typical Lifespan	4 years with breeding typically at 2 year
Adult Survival	0.59
Juvenile Survival	0.6 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	181.1±6.2 | Range 171–191mm, N=1404
	Juveniles	178±5.6 | Range 170-188mm, N=515
	Males	184.8±6.8 | Range 174–196mm, N=152
	Females	179.8±5.9 | Range 171–190mm, N=285

Body Weight	Adults	167±14 | Range 144–189g, N=1113
	Juveniles	163±15.7 | Range 139–184g, N=417
	Males	172±14.3 | Range 146–197g, N=116
	Females	164±14.2 | Range 143–187g, N=234

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	D (pulli E)
Field Codes	2-letter: J. | 5-letter code: JAY.. | Euring: 15390

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

There is little good evidence available regarding the drivers of the breeding population change in this species in the UK.

Further information on causes of change

No further information is available.

Information about conservation actions

The UK population of the Jay has been stable over the long-term and has increased over the last 25 years, hence it is not a species of concern and no conservation actions are currently required.

The drivers of change are not known and no specific conservation actions have been proposed for this species, although actions to maintain and restore woodland habitats to benefit declining woodland specialists may also benefit generalists including the Jay.