Green Jay - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies C. y. galeatus
Photo © by Robert Scanlon
La Suiza Nature Reserve near Pereira, Colombia, May 2004

Cyanocorax yncas

Includes Inca Jay

Identification

25 - 27cm (9¾-10½ in) A distinctive jay with pronounced racial variation:

• Green tail with yellow outer feathers and yellow under-tail coverts.
• Cheeks, throat and upper breast are black.
• Forcrown and moustache-streaks are blue. Hindcrown bluish or white
• Whitish forehead and eyebrow streak.
• Eyes yellow or dark brown.
• Bill and legs black.

Subspecies C. y. luxuosus
Photo © by assayer
Laguna Atascosa NWR, Texas, November 2004

Juveniles duller black areas, blues more greenish, and under parts paler.

Distribution

North, Central and South America: found in southern Texas (USA), Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 12 subspecies^[1], in two major groups which are now widely treated as separate species^[2]:

• Cyanocorax (yncas) luxuosus – Green Jay. Mexico, southernmost USA, Central America. Underparts light green; head with blue crown, not tufted, and dark iris.

Subspecies C. y. yncas
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Abra Patricia, Amazonas Department, Peru, November 2013

• • C. y. speciosus: Pacific slope of western Mexico (Nayarit and Jalisco)
  • C. y. vividus: Pacific slope of southern Mexico (Colima) to western Guatemala
  • C. y. luxuosus: Southern Texas (Rio Grande Valley) to eastern Mexico (Puebla and Veracruz)
  • C. y. centralis: South-eastern Mexico (Tabasco) to Belize, eastern Guatemala and Honduras
  • C. y. maya: South-eastern Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula) and extreme southern Quintana Roo
  • C. y. cozumelae: Cozumel Island
• Cyanocorax yncas (sensu stricto) – Inca Jay. Northern South America. Underparts bright yellow; head with white crown, raised tuft above bill, and yellow iris.
  • C. y. galeatus: Subtropical central Colombia (west of Eastern Andes)
  • C. y. cyanodorsalis: Eastern Andes of Colombia and north-western Venezuela
  • C. y. andicolus: Mountains of northern Venezuela
  • C. y. guatimalensis: Coastal cordillera of northern Venezuela
  • C. y. yncas: Subtropical south-western Colombia to Ecuador, Peru and central Bolivia
  • C. y. longirostris: Northern Peru (arid upper Marañón Valley)

Habitat

Sub-tropical thorn scrub and riparian woodland. Observed at heights around 2,000 m.

Behaviour

Seen in parties outside breeding season.

Diet

Acorns, seeds Texas Palmetto (ebony in winter), grasshoppers, crickets and other insects.

Breeding

Nest (north range April and May) in dense thickets. A thorny twig platform, rootlet, vine, moss and grass lining - eggs can be seen through nest. Two broods per season.
Eggs three to five greyish-white, greenish-white or buff background. Covered in brown, grey and lavender spots - concentrated around larger end.

Vocalisation

Call high pitched and harsh - commonly one long then three short.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Green Jay. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Green_Jay

External Links

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