Quantcast

Gray Jay

Perisoreus canadensisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Crows and Jays (Corvidae)

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Forest edge



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Small colonies



Breeding Population:

Common to fairly common



Egg Color:

White to olive with olive and brown marks



Number of Eggs:

2 - 5



Incubation Days:

16 - 18



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Lined with moss, grass, sticks, bark, feathers, and fur., Fastened together with spider webs and insect cocoons.



Migration:

Nonmigratory



Splitbar

Overview

Gray Jay: Medium-sized, fluffy, crestless jay with gray upperparts, paler underparts, and a short bill. Tail is long and white-tipped. Feeds on insects, carrion, refuse, seed, nuts, berries, mice, eggs and young of other birds. Light and bouyant flight on steady wing beats. Glides between perches.

Range and Habitat

Gray Jay: Resident from Alaska east to Labrador and south across the northern U.S. Most commonly found in coniferous forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Gray Jay: Two to five white to olive eggs, spotted with olive and brown, are laid in a solid bowl of twigs and bark strips, lined with feathers and fur, and built near the trunk of a dense conifer. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Gray Jay: Eats arthropods, berries, carrion, bird eggs and young, and fungi. Forages in trees, shrubs, and on the ground; chases insects in the air.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Suet, Sunflower Seed

Vocalization

Gray Jay: Emits "whee-ah" and "chuck-chuck"; also gives scolding screams and whistles.

Similar Species

Gray Jay: Clark's Nutcracker is chunkier and has medium gray upperparts and underparts and a short white tail with black central feathers.

.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Jays and Magpies (Corvidae)_blue
Species Perisoreus canadensis
Length11.5 Inches
Wingspan16.5 Inches

Gray Jay

Gray Jay: Medium-sized, fluffy, crestless jay with gray upperparts, paler underparts, and a short bill. Tail is long and white-tipped. Feeds on insects, carrion, refuse, seed, nuts, berries, mice, eggs and young of other birds. Light and bouyant flight on steady wing beats. Glides between perches.

● Song: "whee-ah", "chuck-chuck"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gray Jay: Eats arthropods, berries, carrion, bird eggs and young, and fungi. Forages in trees, shrubs, and on the ground; chases insects in the air.

● Breeding & nesting: Gray Jay: Two to five white to olive eggs, spotted with olive and brown, are laid in a solid bowl of twigs and bark strips, lined with feathers and fur, and built near the trunk of a dense conifer. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Gray Jay: Clark's Nutcracker is chunkier and has medium gray upperparts and underparts and a short white tail with black central feathers.

Flight Pattern

Light buoyant flight on steady wing beats.
Gray Jay Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gray Jay: Resident from Alaska east to Labrador and south across the northern U.S. Most commonly found in coniferous forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Small colonies
PopulationCommon to fairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight2.6 Ounces