Are Blue Jays And Cardinals Related?
Blue jays, aka bully birds, and cardinals are two of the most famous birds among avian experts and birders.
Their flying patterns, calling nature, and physical attributes amuse all wildlife enthusiasts and make some believe that these two bird species are closely related. But do they? Are blue jays and cardinals related?
No, they aren’t. Although blue jays and cardinals are derived from the same Corvidae family, they are distinctly different in personality traits, physical features, feeding habits, and more. In this blog, let’s dig out all the facts that make these two bird species different from each other.
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A Comparison Table Displaying The Differences Between These Two Birdies
| Features Name | Cardinals | Blue Jays |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Cardinalidae | Corvidae |
| Personality | Gentle, Social, Protective | Hostile, Combative, Belligerent |
| Feeding Habits | (Granivores) Seeds, Berries, Grains & Insects | (Omnivores) Seeds, Fruits, Insects, Frogs, Mice, Etc. |
| Physical Features | Plumage: Red, Dark Red & Pale Brown Body Length: 21-23.5 cm Wingspan: 25-31 cm Weight: 43 g | Plumage: Blue, White, Black & Light Gray Body Length: 22-30 cm Wingspan: 34-43 cm Weight: 70-100 g |
| Habitat | Southeastern Canada, Eastern United States, Bermuda & Hawaii | Eastern and Central United States and Southern Canada |
| Calling Nature | Tone Type: Mellower Duration: For A Prolonged Period | Tone Type: Whistling Duration: 2 minutes |
| Dating Behaviors | Feed Mates & Exhibit Vivid Plumage | Perform Various Stunts In Front Of Mates |
| Migration | Non- Migratory | Migrate To Different Places |
| Lifespan | 3-15 Years | 7 Years |
Origin: Get To Know The Difference Regarding Their Family History.
Origin is another significant fact that makes these two bird species different. Speaking of these birds’ origins, blue jays belong to the Corvidae family, the same group to which crows belong.
In contrast, the cardinal’s family is cardinalidae, and their genus is also different from blue jays.
Personality Traits: How Different These Birdies Are From Each Other?
Blue jays and cardinals have distinct personalities depending on their genotypes and environment.
Blue jays are known to be aggressive, combative, violent, and territorial. When others try to infiltrate their territory, they will defend it vocally.
These birds are hostile because they constantly get attacked by prey like eagles, falcons, etc. these raptors steal their food sources and hatchlings, making blue jays belligerent.
On the other hand, Cardinals are much gentler and tend not to conflict with other birds. They are also much quieter than blue jays.
But they are as protective as blue jays when it comes to protecting their offspring and food sources.
Feeding Habits: Figure Out What These Birds Prefer Eating.
While comparing blue jays and cardinals’ feeding habits, we have seen that blue jays are omnivores and cardinals are granivores. Blue jays eat insects, fruits, seeds, and grains alongside consuming frogs, mice, and tiny hatchlings.
In contrast, cardinals only eat insects, fruits, grains, and seeds. And their favorite food is sunflower hearts, striped sunflower seeds, mealworms, suet, nyjer seed, cracked corn, etc.
So, you can see that these birds’ feeding habits are distinctly different.
Physical Features: Dissimilarities Between Blue Jays & Cardinals.
Both blue jays and cardinals are stunning, adorable birds, and they boast many similarities in appearance and physical features. But they also have significant differences that we are gonna talk about below.
First, let’s talk about their body color. Cardinals come in red as a predominant color, whereas blue jays feature blue color, for which their name is titled.
Besides the primary body color, blue jays come with a blue back and white belly, while the cardinals’ belly is red and the back is dark red. Besides, both birdies house a high crest, but the crest’s location isn’t in the same body areas.
Blue jays are proud owners of black rings around their necks, whereas cardinals come with black markings on their beaks. Now, let’s talk a bit about their sizes.
Although their body length ranges between 20 and 25 cm, you can find differences while looking at these birds’ body mass. That said, blue jays weigh around 110 grams, and cardinals’ weight is only 43 grams.
So, these are some significant physical features we found while observing these birds closely.
Habitat: Get To Know Where These Birdies Reside.
Blue jays love to perch on woodlands and oak trees. They usually reside deep in the woods of eastern and central United States and southern Canada.
On the contrary, cardinals love to stay on grassy lawns, trees, bushes, gardens, and landscaping of southeastern Canada, eastern United States, Bermuda & Hawaii.
And mostly, cardinals build their nests in thick vegetation. These are some habitual differences we found between these two bird species.
Calling Nature: Uncover How Different Their Vocalization Is.
Although both birds are songbirds, their calling nature is very distinct. For instance, blue jays tend to produce a mellower tone, while cardinals are seen to create a whistling sound.
Besides, blue jays can sing for an extended duration, and cardinals’ songs only last for about two minutes.
Dating Behaviors: Explore Their Mating Behavior.
Most birds have similar mating behavior, but we noticed a slight difference while observing blue jays and cardinals’ courtship rituals.
During the mating session, male cardinals try to feed female cardinals, which seems like a kiss, while blue jays are less formal and don’t follow any kissing rules.
Instead, blue jays tend to flock around female birds and try to appear in front of those birds more attractively by performing a few stunts.
Migration: Discover Differences In Their Migratory Patterns.
Most birds tend to migrate from point A to B during winter or scarcity. But when it is to cardinals, they prefer staying in their habitats. They don’t migrate even in winter and heavily rely on bird feeders that people hang outside.
Conversely, blue jays opt to migrate, covering a large distance and even flying over to different states. They do this to find food and shelter during winter. They don’t rely on the same place for food sources as the cardinals do.
Lifespan: Yeah, Their Differences Exist In The Lifespan Too.
Cardinals are gifted with a comparatively longer lifespan than blue jays. These birds can live in the wild for up to 15 years. The longest recorded lifespan of cardinals is about 28 years.
Blue jays, in contrast, can survive in the wild for around seven years. However, there is an exception; the longest recorded lifespan of blue jays is 26 years.
So, these are some differences related to blue jays and cardinals.
Final Words:
The Cardinals and Blue Jays are unrelated, but they are both bird species. They share a common ancestor that lived over 300 million years ago. This ancient ancestor gave rise to all of the modern birds in the world today.
While the two bird species aren’t related, they share genetic similarities. For this reason, people believe that both birds are related.
However, we hope our effort provides you with new information today. If it did, please follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Happy birding!
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