A medium blue-gray jay endemic to southwestern sky islands.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The Mexican jay formerly known as the gray-breasted jay, is a New World jay native to the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, and Central Plateau of Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. In May 2011, the American Ornithologists' Union voted to split the Mexican jay into two species, one retaining the common name Mexican jay and one called the Transvolcanic jay. The Mexican jay is a medium-sized jay with blue upper parts and pale gray underparts. It resembles the Woodhouse's scrub-jay, but has an unstreaked throat and breast. It feeds largely on acorns and pine nuts, but includes many other plant and animal foods in its diet. It has a cooperative breeding system where the parents are assisted by other birds to raise their young. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Source: Wikipedia — Mexican jay Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Fairly plain blue-and-gray jay with a blue head, wings, and tail, a grayish back and underparts, and no crest or bold markings.
Similar species. Western Scrub-Jay (Woodhouse's) has a whitish throat with a blue necklace and bolder contrast; the Mexican Jay is plainer and travels in flocks.
Voice. A loud, ringing, rising 'wink? wink?' repeated by flock members.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Omnivorous: nuts, seeds, insects, eggs, carrion, small vertebrates.
Behavior. A social jay of southwestern pine-oak mountains that lives in cooperative family flocks; group members help feed nestlings and the flock defends a shared territory year-round.
§ Range
Sky islands of southwestern US
§ Habitat
Mountain oak-pine forests
§ Threats
Habitat loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the mexican jay is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support southwestern sky island conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Mexican jay
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Aphelocoma wollweberi
- IUCN Red List — search for Aphelocoma wollweberi
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Aphelocoma wollweberi
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
