Species Name: Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas)

Length: 12"

Description: Strikingly colored, with bright green body and green tail with yellow on the sides; brilliant blue crown and cheek; rest of head, throat, and breast black. Variety of rattling calls and also shink, shink, shink.

Range: Resident in southernmost Texas (Rio Grande Valley) southward. Also in the tropics.

Habitat: Dry thickets and open forest with thick undergrowth; sometimes in more open country around ranch houses.

Nesting: Four brown-spotted, grayish eggs in a loosely made stick nest of thorns; lined with rootlets or grass and placed in a bush or small tree.

Diet: They are omnivorous, like most Jays, eating fruits, seeds, insects, and even corn. They are known to even visit feeders for meat scraps.

Odd Facts: In winter months and when not nesting, these inhabitants of dense thickets visit more open country, even near ranches and smaller towns.

Tips on Photography: These birds will come to feeder setups once they become accustomed. Sunflower seeds and peanuts are excellent tidbits to offer at the feeder to entice these birds. It's better to set your feeder out a day or two before you begin your photography. Listen for their call as they approach so you can prepare to shoot. One of the more difficult aspects to photographing this bird is getting images that have detail in the black feathers on the head. A flash set to fill in TTL or equivalent mode is an excellent way to bring out the detail of the feathers as well as the dark eye.

Related or Similar Species: Structure like other Jays, this being a medium size Jay.

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