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Green Jay
Cyanocorax Incas
The green jay is a colorful bird with a green body, yellow breast, black head and blue face. They are about the size of a blue jay. Those in the South American population are a bit larger than those in North America.
Range & Habitat
Green jays are found from southern Texas south to Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela and through parts of Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia. They live in woodlands, thick secondary growth forests, thickets, citrus groves, humid rainforests, lowlands and mountain forests up to about 5,000 feet.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Diet
In the Wild: A variety of insects, fruit, seeds, spiders, eggs, other birds’ chicks, small rodents and lizards.
At the Zoo: Insects, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds and commercial bird feeds.
Life Span
About 10 years
Fun Facts about the Green Jay
- Green jays, like the more familiar blue jays, are excellent mimics. They can imitate calls of hawks to frighten away other bird species from food they want to eat.
- The northern and southern populations of green jays are so distinct that some scientists believe that they are two separate species.
- They are members of the Corvid family which includes other jays, crows, ravens, rooks and more. This family of birds is known for their intelligence.
Sources
Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Ed.). (2019). Green Jay. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.allabout birds.org/guide/Green_Jay/overview
Gayou, D. A. (2020, March 4). Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://birds of the world.org/bow/species/ grnjay/cur
San Francisco Zoo (Ed.). (2017). Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). Retrieved February 1, 2021, from http://www.sfzoo.org/animals/birds/green-jay.htm
Updated June 13, 2023
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