The green jay is a species of the New World jays, found in Central America, Mexico, and South Texas. Adults are about 11 inches long (27 cm) and variable in colour 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 (insects and spiders), small 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 has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Passeriformes
Family:
Corvidae
Genus:
Cyanocorax
Species:
C. Yncas, (also C. luxuosus)
Length: 10 inches
Range
Tropical, found primarily in Mexico and South America. Rare in US but seen regularly at bird feeders along the Rio Grande Valley.
Habitat
In brushy mesquite thickets, farms, humid forests, opan riparian woodlands and regularly stocked backyard feeders.
Description
Black bib and deep blue, nearly purple crown, cheeks and face. Green wings and mantle, bluish-green tails with yellow edges, broken blue eye rings. Yellow sides, rump, and under tail. Large black crow-like bill. Dark gray legs.
Food consists of insects, small vertebrates, seeds, and fruit.
