The brown jay (''Cyanocorax morio'') is a large jay native to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and southern Texas.

Taxonomy

The brown jay was formerly placed in its own genus ''Psilorhinus''. When

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies found that the genus '' Cyanocorax'' was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

relative to ''Psilorhinus'', ''Psilorhinus'' was subsumed into ''Cyanocorax'' to resolve the paraphyly. Three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised: * ''C. m. palliatus'' ( Van Rossem, 1934) – extreme south Texas (south USA) and northeast, east Mexico * ''C. m. morio'' ( Wagler, 1829) – southeast Mexico to west Panama * ''C. m. vociferus'' ( Cabot, S, 1843) – north

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

(southeast Mexico)

Description

Psilorhinus morio -Costa Rica -immature-8

Brown jays vary in plumage geographically: there are two main groups. Northern birds are almost completely dark brown, with lighter brown on the underparts. Southern birds are white-bellied and have bright white tips to the outer tail feathers. The intergrade zone is in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Adults in both populations have black bills, legs, and feet. Immatures have yellow bare parts, including yellow eye-rings. The voice is a loud but low-pitched ''pee-ah'' call and is often modified to suit its situation or mood.

Distribution and habitat

The northernmost extent of the brown jay is in the lower Rio Grande Valley of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

close to the Mexican border; from Mexico it occurs south into

. in Mexico it occurs widely in the east and southeast. In Central America, it is widespread on the Gulf slope from

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

south to western

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

; it is scarcer on the Pacific slope, and in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

is confined to the far northeast in

Morazán Department Morazán () is a Departments of El Salvador, department of El Salvador. Located in the northeast part of the country, its capital is San Francisco Gotera. It covers a total surface area of 1,447 km2 (558.8 mi² Square Miles). History G ...

close to the

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

border.

Behaviour and ecology

Food is sought largely in trees but brown jays also take some food from the ground. They are rather indiscriminate feeders. Insects and a wide range of other invertebrates are taken, also lizards, nectar, and fruit (e.g. that of '' Trophis racemosa'' in the

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

). Though they will take eggs and nestlings, they appear not to if there is plenty of other food available. The nest is built in a tree or large shrub with both sexes helping in construction. There are normally three eggs laid but up to six is not unusual. Incubation is between 18 and 20 days. Only the female broods but the male feeds her while doing so. Sometimes the offspring from a previous season will help in raising the chicks. If a helper bird returns with food, it will give it to one of the resident parents to feed the chicks.

References

External links