Green Jay
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The green jay (''Cyanocorax luxuosus'') is a species of the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
jays, found in Central America,
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 ...
, and South
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 ...
. Adults are about long and variable in color across their range; they usually have blue and black heads, green wings and mantle, bluish-green tails, black bills, yellow or brown eye rings, and dark legs. The basic diet consists of arthropods, vertebrates, seeds, and fruit. The nest is usually built in a thorny bush; the female incubates the clutch of three to five eggs. This is a common species of jay with a wide range and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
has rated its conservation status as being of "
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
".


Taxonomy

Seven
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 accepted; listed from north to south: *''Cyanocorax luxuosus glaucescens'' – Southern Texas, northeast Mexico *''Cyanocorax luxuosus luxuosus'' – East-central Mexico *''Cyanocorax luxuosus speciosus'' – Western Mexico *''Cyanocorax luxuosus vividus'' – Southwestern Mexico *''Cyanocorax luxuosus maya'' – Yucatan Peninsula *''Cyanocorax luxuosus confusus'' – Southeastern Mexico to western Guatemala *''Cyanocorax luxuosus centralis'' – Honduras It differs from the related
Inca jay The Inca jay or querrequerre (''Cyanocorax yncas'') is a bird species of the New World jays, which is native to the Andes of South America. Taxonomy The Inca jay was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 17 ...
of the Andes most obviously in lacking the large nasal bristles that form a distinct tuft at the base of the bill in that species, and also tends to show more blue on the rear crown. Despite its separation from the Inca jay by a 1,600 km range gap, some ornithologists treat the green jay and Inca jay as
conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...
, with the green jay as ''C. yncas luxuosus'' and the Inca jay as ''C. yncas yncas''.


Description

Green jays are in length. Weight ranges from . They have feathers of yellowish-white with blue tips on the top of the head, cheeks and nape. The breast and underparts range from bright yellow in the south (e.g. ''C. l. maya'' in the Yucatan) to pale green in the north (e.g. ''C. l. glaucescens'' in
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 ...
). The upper parts are rich green. The color of the iris depends on the subspecies, ranging from dark brownish in the north to bright yellow in the south.


Behavior

Green jays feed on a wide range of
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s and other
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s and various
cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...
grains. They take ebony ('' Ebenopsis'' spp.) seeds where these occur, and also any
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
species'
acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...
s, which they will
cache Cache, caching, or caché may refer to: Science and technology * Cache (computing), a technique used in computer storage for easier data access * Cache (biology) or hoarding, a food storing behavior of animals * Cache (archaeology), artifacts p ...
. Meat and human scraps add to the diet when opportunity arises. Green jays have been observed using sticks as tools to extract
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s from tree
bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...
.


Breeding

Green jays usually build a nest in a tree or in a thorny bush or thicket, and the female lays three to five eggs. Only the female incubates, but both parents take care of the young.


Voice

As with most of the typical jays, this species has a very extensive voice repertoire. The bird's most common call makes a ' sound, but many other unusual notes also occur. One of the most distinctive calls sounds like an alarm bell.


Distribution and habitat

The green jay occurs from southern
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 ...
to
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, ...
. The similar
Inca jay The Inca jay or querrequerre (''Cyanocorax yncas'') is a bird species of the New World jays, which is native to the Andes of South America. Taxonomy The Inca jay was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 17 ...
has a disjunct home range in the northern Andes of South America.


Status

The green jay is a common species throughout most of its wide range. It is an adaptable species and the population is thought to be increasing as clearing of forests is creating new areas of suitable habitat. No particular threats have been identified, and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
has rated its conservation status as being of "
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
".


References


External links

* 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 ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
at * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q918078 green jay Birds of the Rio Grande valleys Birds of Mexico Birds of Belize Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds of the Northern Andes Tool-using animals green jay Taxa named by René Lesson Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN