Baldur’s Gate 3’s avian enthusiasts may have found evidence that Larian doesn’t know what a Blue Jay is
Devastatingly, it turns out that Baldur’s Gate 3 might not be entirely accurate in its portrayal of birds, with an avian enthusiast on Reddit having picked out some aspects of Larian’s Blue Jays that don’t add up.
To be honest, it’s surprising that someone has been able to take their eyes off of some of BG3’s super cute ground-dwelling animals, such as the owlbear cub and this cat that can sort of become your son if you pass an intelligence check. However, Reddit user AstroAri has seemingly had their peepers trained on the skies, having managed to spot several details that they think prove Larian has no idea how one fowl should behave.
“I’m an avid birder, and blue jays are my favourite bird,” they explained in a post on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit, “So the portrayal of blue jays in this game is hysterically funny to me. It’s extremely clear that Larian (a Belgian company) has absolutely no clue what a Blue Jay (a corvid endemic to North America) actually is.”
In terms of evidence to back up this very serious claim, they cite three in-game encounters involving the bird in question.
The first is the Red Jay belonging to the druid Apikusis, with AstroAri explaining: “The existence of this bird implies that it’s some sort of rare morph of the blue jay with red pigmentation instead of blue. Which, in a fantasy setting, would parse…except blue jays don’t actually have blue pigmentation at all!”
Second is the fact that, due to the fact that real blue jays are “only capable of screaming”, that interaction bards can have with a singing one in the Emerald Grove isn’t too accurate.
Finally, they outline: “The blue jay at Rosymorn Monastery, who asks for help ridding ‘his’ nest of the Giant Eagles currently inhabiting it. A real blue jay would call up a bunch of his blue jay friends and attack the eagles en masse in an act called mobbing, because blue jays are suicidally overconfident.”
“So, I think Larian thinks blue jays are like regular bluebirds or songbirds, when they’re actually just crows, but smaller and more evil,” AstroAri concluded, “BG3 is pro-blue jay propaganda.”
They also added: “Absolutely no shade at all to Larian, just poking some fun at them!”
So, the next time you play a nice duet with that grove Blue Jay, remember that it’s actually screaming very melodically.
If you’ve been left saddened by this news, you’re probably feeling a bit like Baldur’s Gate 3’s sex speedrunning community, who’ve had the wind taken out of their sails by the game’s latest patch.
