During our walk in nature, I came across the Eurasian Jay; the most colorful of the crow family and a very adaptable and successful species that has spread throughout the greater parts of europe and asia.
It has a couple very fascinating features, one of them being its ability to mimic sounds of all sorts. Upon being attacked it mimics the sound of its predator, spreading confusion, but it also alarms fellow members of predators. This is why the Eurasian Jay is sometimes called the "police man of the forrest".
This little bird also plays an important role in the regeneration of oak trees. One bird hides as many as 4500- 11,000 acorns per year. It rarely every hides more than one acorn per spot, and it can spread them up to distances of about 3km. Some of these acorns are lost or forgotten, which then leads to the regeneration of oak trees far away from the mother tree. It is estimated that the "work" done by this little bird, in Sweden alone, is worth many millions every year.
by Mikaela Grassl
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