Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" folk taxonomy, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually have colorful feathers and are quite noisy. These superificial characteristics set them apart from most other corvids such as , , , rooks and , which are larger and have darker plumage. Many so-called however.
Systematics and species
Jays are not a
monophyletic group. Anatomical and molecular evidence indicates they can be divided into a
New World and an
Old World lineage (the latter including the
and the
piapiac), while the grey jays of the genus
Perisoreus form a group of their own.
[http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021299/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf PDF fulltext] The
, formerly believed to be related to jays, are classified as
.
Old World ("brown") jays
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Mongolian ground jay, Podoces hendersoni
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Xinjiang ground jay, Podoces biddulphi
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Pleske's ground jay, Podoces pleskei
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Turkestan ground jay, Podoces panderi
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Grey jays
New World jays
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Florida scrub jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens
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Island scrub jay, Aphelocoma insularis
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California scrub jay, Aphelocoma californica
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Woodhouse's scrub jay, Aphelocoma woodhouseii
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Transvolcanic jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina
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Mexican jay, Aphelocoma wollweberi
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Unicolored jay, Aphelocoma unicolor
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Steller's jay, Cyanocitta stelleri
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Blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata
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Tufted jay, Cyanocorax dickeyi
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Black-chested jay, Cyanocorax affinis
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Green jay, Cyanocorax ynca
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Brown jay, Cyanocorax morio
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Bushy-crested jay, Cyanocorax melanocyaneus
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San Blas jay, Cyanocorax sanblasianus
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Yucatan jay, Cyanocorax yucatanicus
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Purplish-backed jay, Cyanocorax beecheii
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Purplish jay, Cyanocorax cyanomelas
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Azure jay, Cyanocorax caeruleus
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Violaceous jay, Cyanocorax violaceus
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Curl-crested jay, Cyanocorax cristatellus
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Azure-naped jay, Cyanocorax heilprini
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Cayenne jay, Cyanocorax cayanus
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Plush-crested jay, Cyanocorax chrysops
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White-naped jay, Cyanocorax cyanopogon
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White-tailed jay, Cyanocorax mystacalis
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Black-throated magpie-jay, Cyanocorax colliei
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White-throated magpie-jay, Cyanocorax formosus
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Black-collared jay, Cyanolyca armillata
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Turquoise jay, Cyanolyca turcosa
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White-collared jay, Cyanolyca viridicyana
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Azure-hooded jay, Cyanolyca cucullata
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Beautiful jay, Cyanolyca pulchra
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Black-throated jay, Cyanolyca pumilo
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Dwarf jay, Cyanolyca nana
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Silvery-throated jay, Cyanolyca argentigula
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White-throated jay, Cyanolyca mirabilis
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In culture
Slang
The word
jay has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning a person who chatters impertinently.
The term jaywalking was coined in the first decade of the 1900s to label persons crossing a busy street carelessly and becoming a traffic hazard.
In January 2014, Canadian author Robert Joseph Greene embarked on a lobbying campaign among ornithologists in Europe and North America to get Merriam-Websters Dictionary to have a "Jabber of Jays" as an official term under bird groups.
External links
