Green Jay

The green jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus) is a species of the New World jays, found in Central America, Mexico, and South Texas. Adults are about 27 cm (11 in) long and variable in color across their range; they usually have blue and black heads, green wings and mantle, bluish-green tails, black bills, yellow or brown eye rings, and dark legs. The basic diet consists of arthropods, vertebrates, seeds, and fruit. The nest is usually built in a thorny bush; the female incubates the clutch of three to five eggs. This is a common species of jay with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Green jays are 25–29 cm (9.8–11.4 in) in length. Weight ranges from 66 to 110 grams (2.3 to 3.9 oz). They have feathers of yellowish-white with blue tips on the top of the head, cheeks and nape. The breast and underparts range from bright yellow in the south (e.g. C. l. maya in the Yucatan) to pale green in the north (e.g. C. l. glaucescens in Texas). The upper parts are rich green. The color of the iris depends on the subspecies, ranging from dark brownish in the north to bright yellow in the south.

Green jays feed on a wide range of insects and other invertebrates and various cereal grains. They take ebony (Ebenopsis spp.) seeds where these occur, and also any oak species' acorns, which they will cache. Meat and human scraps add to the diet when opportunity arises. Green jays have been observed using sticks as tools to extract insects from tree bark.