The Blue Jay is one of the most recognisable birds in North America and also credited for helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period because of their penchant for acorns. Now for a little fact that will blow your mind... ready?

Blue Jays aren't blue...

"THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!" we hear you cry. How can this be? Let us tell you... Blue Jays (and all bluebirds) use a clever little trick called 'light scattering', when visible light strikes the feathers, all of the colours pass through the feather EXCEPT blue. The blue colour is reflected, so your eyes will see BLUE!

If you STILL don't believe us we suggest you find your nearest Blue Jay (at your local, erm, Blue Jay finding... place... ), get one of its feathers wet, and it will turn brown. Why? Because you’re interfering with the mechanism that reflects light, so you will no longer see blue.

We know, we know, it's all too much...  have a little lie-down and come back to us when you've wrapped your head around that one...

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