From Orwell to Pink Floyd: Animals & A Fig's Tale VL p.3

[ish mailian]

Is Pynchon using the informal here? Or does the word hint that these
Blue Jays are a symbol of an operation?

Blue Jays are know for their territorial behavior and for sometimes
stealing the eggs or chicks of other birds.

squad·ron
/ˈskwädrən/

noun: squadron; plural noun: squadrons

an operational unit in an air force consisting of two or more flights
of aircraft and the personnel required to fly them.

a principal division of an armored or cavalry regiment, consisting of
two or more troops.
a group of warships detached on a particular duty or under the command
of a flag officer.
INFORMAL
a large group of people or things.
"he immediately commissioned a squadron of architects"

Origin
mid 16th century (originally denoting a group of soldiers in square
formation): from Italian squadrone, from squadra ‘square’.