Blue Jay Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

What color is a blue jay? Blue jays and other blue birds are not actually blue in the same way that red and yellow birds are red and yellow This is because they don’t have blue pigments that give them their color Blue birds instead use the structure of their feathers to refract the light in a way that makes them look blue to our eyes Similar to how the sky is colored blue So when you are painting Blue Jays, you should think about the colors surrounding the blue jay that they might be reflecting.

Blue Jay Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology