Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernOmnivore

ForestCup nestMedium · 72 g

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 1 — Photo: Norma Malinowski · CC BY 4.0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 2 — Photo: deefinder200 · CC BY 4.0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 3 — Photo: deefinder200 · CC BY 4.0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 4 — Photo: JD Flores · CC0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 5 — Photo: JD Flores · CC0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 6 — Photo: Victor Hooper · CC BY 4.0

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), photo 7 — Photo: Victor Hooper · CC BY 4.0

What the Canada Jay sounds like

Sonogram of the Canada Jay: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by NPS Alaska · Call · Triple Lakes Trail, AK, United States · CC0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Call, song · Blue Bell Campground, Custer State Park, South Dakota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Call · Blue Bell Campground, Custer State Park, South Dakota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Canada jay is a relatively large songbird, though smaller than other jays. A typical adult Canada jay is between 25 and 33 cm (9.8 and 13.0 in) long. Its wingspan is around 45 cm (18 in). It weighs about 65 to 70 g (2.3 to 2.5 oz). Adults have medium grey back feathers with a lighter grey underside. Its head is mostly white with a dark grey or black nape and hood, with a short black beak and dark eyes. The long tail is medium grey with lighter tips. The legs and feet are black. The plumage is thick, providing insulation in the bird's cold native habitat.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Canada Jay

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is June, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Canada Jay

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 2 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

United States Canada

Recorded as a rare visitor in St. Pierre & Miquelon.

About the Canada Jay

The Canada jay, also known as the grey jay, gray jay, camp robber, moose bird, gorby, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America, north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. A fairly large songbird, the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey nape. It is one of three members of the genus Perisoreus, a genus more closely related to the magpie genus Cyanopica than to other birds known as jays. The Canada jay itself has nine recognized subspecies.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Siberian JayPerisoreus infaustusThe Siberian jay is the smallest of the western Palearctic corvids, weighing 75 to 90 g (2.6 to 3.2 oz) and measuring about 30 centimetres (12 inches) in length.

Sichuan JayPerisoreus internigransThe Sichuan jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.

Side by side: Canada Jay vs Siberian Jay

Watch the Canada Jay on live cams

Ontario FeederWatch Cam stream preview — **Ontario FeederWatch Cam**Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada · Cornell Lab Bird Cams / Perky-Pet

Browse all 118 bird cams worldwide, live and seasonal, by region and species.

Learn the Canada Jay in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.