I noticed several Blue Jays in the yard one weekend just before Easter and facetiously told my daughter they must be back early because they didn't have much to report to the Devil about. And that got me thinking, as most any little quirky thing does. You see, I assumed any good Southerner knew the tale that Blue Jays have to report to Hell every Friday to tell the Devil all the bad things we mortals have done during the week. Imagine my surprise when I mentioned it in passing to a couple of Georgia friends and they looked at me like my wits had left the building. I decided then and there I'd come up with an explanation for what started the familiar (to me) folk tale and why Friday was the day they had to report in.
If you'd like to read the little piece I wrote about that, drop me a line, but in the meantime, here's what you can find online about the folk tale and some of the many references to it in Southern literature. https://awingandaway.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/the-american-south-blue-jays-and-ol-prejudices/
Photo by Scott Martin from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/photo-gallery
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