JAY

5th February 2024

Photo Credit: Piotr Krzeslak (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich

And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,

So honour peereth in the meanest habit.

What, is the jay more precious than the lark

Because his feathers are more beautiful?

PETRUCHIO: Taming of the Shrew, Act 4, Scene 3

JAY (Garrulus glandarius)

The Jay makes several appearances in Shakespeare’s works, as a bird of beautiful appearance and as a source of eggs in the Tempest.

Jays appear in Hugh de Fouilly’s 12th century Aviarum, an interpretation of the spiritual aspects of different birds, the Jay is described as ‘it is a species most loquacious and rude in its sounds, which can signify either the empty prating of philosophers, or the harmful verbosity of heretics.’

Jays have the most flamboyant feathers of the Crow family. They enjoy acorns and often store them for winter. They have a distinctive call and can be found in both rural and urban settings.

More Information

British Trust for Ornithology BTO: Jay

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Hugh de Fouilly (Translation by Clark Willen B, 1992, accessed via Archive.org)

RSPB: Jay