One of the 3 magpies on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Corvidae
Green Jay
Cyanocorax yncas
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The green jay — known in Spanish as urraca inca or quiruncho — is a small, spectacular corvid of the Andean cloud forests: bright green above, yellow below, with a black face, a crown of electric-blue feathers and yellow eyes. It lives in noisy family groups that work the understorey and middle storey, and it breeds cooperatively. Like all corvids it is highly intelligent and notably opportunistic.
Weight
76 g – 88 g
Size
25 cm – 30 cm
Lifespan
15 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- It has been documented using twigs as tools to extract grubs from bark, one of the few American corvids in which that behaviour has been seen.
- Its crown of electric-blue feathers is erectile: it raises them in social interactions and lays them flat the rest of the time, completely changing the bird's outline.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Montane cloud forest, forest edges and shade-grown coffee plantations of the northern Andes
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 17 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 4
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanocorax_yncas
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in the forests of Mexico, Central America and the Andes, by day; it moves in noisy groups through the understorey.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 23 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Green Jay — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Least ConcernSteller's Jay
Cyanocitta stelleri
Clark's Nutcracker
Nucifraga columbiana
Least ConcernWhite-nosed Coati
Nasua narica
Crested Guan
Penelope purpurascens
Collared Trogon
Trogon collaris
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about green jay.
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