Jay Garrulus glandarius

The Jay is the most colourful member of the British corvids (crow family) with pinkish plumage, bright blue and black flash, black moustache/trimmings and white chin and rump.

It has a surprisingly short beak for its size. As its Latin name suggests, it is garrulous (talkative) but can also mimic other birds' calls and even human speech.

Also called the Eurasian Jay, it has a wide geographic range from Western Europe to the Far East and to Southeast Asia, but missing much of Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

It is very timid, usually travelling in pairs where one keeps watch while the other dashes out of cover or feeds.

It also buries food (mainly acorns) for storage and can remember hundreds of storage sites while doing a service to tree propagation.