Mexican Jay

Aphelocoma ultramarinaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Crows and Jays (Corvidae)

Codes: Common Name: MEJA Scientific Name: APHULT ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179707

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Cooperative, Gregarious.

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common

Egg Color:

Pale green eggs with green markings

Number of Eggs:

4 - 7

Incubation Days:

16 - 18

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Twigs, Lined with fine grass, hair, twigs and roots.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

Mexican Jay: Large, crestless jay with blue-gray back, blue head, wings, rump and tail, and pale gray underparts. Bill is dark. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is grayer and has dark-tipped yellow bill.

Range and Habitat

Mexican Jay: Ranges from the north in central Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and west-central Texas through the eastern central mountain chain south to Puebla, Guerrero, and central Veracruz, and west to Jalisco and Colima. Preferred habitats include pine, oak, and juniper woodlands.

Breeding and Nesting

Mexican Jay: Four to seven pale green eggs with green markings are laid in a nest made of twigs with an inner layer of rootlets, lined with fine grass, hair, twigs and roots, and built from 6 to 30 feet above the ground on a horizontal branch or crotch of an oak or conifer. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Mexican Jay: Acorns are a staple, but it also eats fruits, insects, carrion, and eggs and young birds. Forages on the ground and in trees; caches acorns and other nuts; holds food under its feet to peck it open.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Suet, Sunflower Seed

Vocalization

Mexican Jay: Song is raucous, ringing "weenk", often heard in series. Calls include "wait-wait-wait" and a soft "coo."

Similar Species

Mexican Jay: Western Scrub-Jay has gray-brown back, blue necklace across the breast, and white eyebrow. Pinyon Jay has a short tail, blue breast, and long, pointed bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Mexican Jay

Mexican Jay: Large, crestless jay, blue-gray back, blue head, wings, rump, tail, and pale gray underparts. Bill, legs, feet are black. Feeds primarily on acorns, also eats insects, fruit, carrion and eggs and young of other birds. Slow steady bouyant wing beats. Glides between perches.

● Song: "wait-wait-wait", "coo"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mexican Jay: Acorns are a staple, but it also eats fruits, insects, carrion, and eggs and young birds. Forages on the ground and in trees; caches acorns and other nuts; holds food under its feet to peck it open.

● Breeding & nesting: Mexican Jay: Four to seven pale green eggs with green markings are laid in a nest made of twigs with an inner layer of rootlets, lined with fine grass, hair, twigs and roots, and built from 6 to 30 feet above the ground on a horizontal branch or crotch of an oak or conifer. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Mexican Jay: Western Scrub-Jay has gray-brown back, blue necklace across the breast, and white eyebrow. Pinyon Jay has a short tail, blue breast, and long, pointed bill.

Flight Pattern

Slow steady buoyant wing beats. Glides between perches within trees, between trees and from trees to ground.

Mexican Jay Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Mexican Jay: Ranges from the north in central Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and west-central Texas through the eastern central mountain chain south to Puebla, Guerrero, and central Veracruz, and west to Jalisco and Colima. Preferred habitats include pine, oak, and juniper woodlands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Cooperative, Gregarious.

^PopulationFairly common to common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight4.3 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Mexican Jay

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Readily Eats

Vocalization

Similar Species

Mexican Jay

Flight Pattern