Mexican Jay
Aphelocoma wollweberi
The Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma wollweberi) is a common crows, jays, and magpi found in 2 countries, weighing about 113 g. 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.
About the Mexican Jay
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…
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The Mexican jay is a medium-large (~120 g) passerine similar in size to most other jays, with a blue head, blue-gray mantle, blue wings and tail, and pale gray breast and underparts. The sexes are morphologically similar, and juveniles differ only in having less blue coloration and, in some populations, a pink/pale (instead of black) bill that progressively becomes more black with age (Brown and Horvath 1989). Some field guides misreport this color as yellow because the pale bill becomes yellow in museum study skins. The iris is brown and legs are black.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Mexican Jay can be seen all year round, with peak activity in May. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Watch the Mexican Jay on live cams
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Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Mexican Jay?
- The Mexican jay is a medium-large (~120 g) passerine similar in size to most other jays, with a blue head, blue-gray mantle, blue wings and tail, and pale gray breast and underparts. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Mexican Jay?
- The Mexican Jay is a medium sized bird weighing about 113 g.
- Where can you see a Mexican Jay?
- The Mexican Jay occurs in 2 countries, including the United States and Mexico.
- What birds look similar to a Mexican Jay?
- The Mexican Jay is most easily confused with the Florida Scrub Jay, the Unicolored Jay and the Island Scrub Jay.
- Is the Mexican Jay endangered?
- The Mexican Jay is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Mexican Jay for real
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