the mexican jay is a social, colorful corvid found in portions of mexico & the southwestern united states. within their range, they show a strong preference for montane pine-oak forest. these cheerfully colored birds have blue upperparts and pale gray undersides; they look similar to the woodhouse’s scrub-jay, but lack the streaking on the throat and breast found in that species. the sexes are visually indistinguishable, but juveniles are differentiated by their less blue coloration, and in some populations, a purple/pink bill that darkens into black with age. the mexican jay has a varied omnivorous diet, but the birds hold a strong preference for acorns and pine nuts. these birds have a cooperative breeding system, also found in the closely related florida scrub-jay. several birds assist the parents in raising a clutch; these birds are often offspring from the pairs’ clutch from the past few breeding seasons, but unrelated flock members help out as well. they are highly social birds, and are often found in flocks of a dozen or more individuals; they frequently call to one another and group together for foraging and other activities.
images sourced from the Macaulay Library
