Green Jay

Green Jay

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About the map

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Habitat
6. Food
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

A colorful tropical bird found primarily in Mexico and South America, the Green Jay just makes its way into the United States in southern Texas.

Cool Facts

• The Central American and South American populations of the Green Jay are separated by 1,500 km (900 mi). The two different groups differ in color, calls, and habitat use, and may be different species. The South American Green Jays are larger and have a crest in front of their eyes.
• A Texas Green Jay flock consists of a breeding pair, the current year's nestlings, and one-year-old, non-breeding jays from the previous year's nest. The one-year-olds defend the territory, which aids the parents, but they are ejected from the family flock soon after the current year's nestlings have fledged.

• In Colombia, the Green Jay retains offspring for several years, and those young help the parents raise more chicks.

Description

• Size: 29 cm (11 in)
• Weight: 66-110 g (2.33-3.88 ounces)

• Large songbird.
• Pale green back and underside.
• Black head and chest.
• Blue face.
• Yellow sides to tail.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but duller.

Sound

Loud series of harsh "shek, shek, shek" notes.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Resident from southern Texas to both coasts of Mexico and into Honduras. Also in northern South America.

Habitat

In Texas, uses open woodland and brushy mesquite thickets. In rest of range found in humid forests.

Food

Arthropods, vertebrates, seeds, and fruit.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Flimsy open cup of thorny twigs, lined with fine roots, vine stems, moss, and dry grass.

Egg Description

Pale greenish white with dark spots near large end.

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Expanding range in Texas.

Other Names

Geai vert (French)
Queisque verde, Shara verde, Urraca de montana, Picahayote (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Gayou, D. C. 1995. Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). In The Birds of North America, No. 187 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.