jay
{{Short description|Bird}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Jay (bird)|other uses|jay bird (disambiguation)}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| image = Garrulus glandarius 1 Luc Viatour.jpg
| image_caption = Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)
| parent = Corvidae
| includes_text = Genera
| includes =
}}
Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, 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 crows, ravens, jackdaws, rooks and magpies, which are larger and have darker plumage. Many so-called "jays" are genetically closer to these other corvids than other jays, 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 ground jays and the piapiac), while the grey jays of the genus Perisoreus form a group of their own.{{cite journal|last1=Ericson|first1=Per G. P.|last2=Jansén|first2=Anna-Lee|last3=Johansson|first3=Ulf S.|last4=Ekman|first4=Jan|title=Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data|journal=Journal of Avian Biology|date=May 2005|volume=36|issue=3|pages=222–234|doi=10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.03409.x|citeseerx=10.1.1.493.5531}}http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021299/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810020048/http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021299/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf |date=2017-08-10 }} PDF fulltext The black magpies, formerly believed to be related to jays, are classified as treepies.
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=Old World ("brown") jays=
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
| 175px | Garrulus {{small|Brisson, 1760}} | * Eurasian jay, Garrulus glandarius
|
| 175px | Podoces {{small|Fischer von Waldheim, 1821}} - Ground jays | * Mongolian ground jay, Podoces hendersoni
|
| 175px | Ptilostomus {{small|Swainson, 1837}} | * Piapiac, Ptilostomus afer |
=Grey jays=
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
| 175px | Perisoreus {{small|Bonaparte, 1831}} - Grey jays | * Siberian jay, Perisoreus infaustus
|
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=New World jays=
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
| 175px | Aphelocoma {{small|Cabanis, 1851}} - Scrub-jays | * Florida scrub-jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens
|
| 175px | Gymnorhinus {{small|Wied-Neuwied, 1841}} | * Pinyon jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus |
| 175px | Cyanocitta {{small|Strickland, 1845}} | * Steller's jay, Cyanocitta stelleri
|
| 175px | Cyanocorax {{small|F. Boie, 1826}} | * Tufted jay, Cyanocorax dickeyi
|
| 175px | Cyanolyca {{small|Cabanis, 1851}} | * Black-collared jay, Cyanolyca armillata
|
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In culture
=Slang=
The word jay has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning a person who chatters impertinently.{{cite web| title = Jay | quote = An overly talkative person; a chatterbox.| publisher = freedictionary.com| url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Jay}}{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jay|title=Definition of Jay by Merriam-Webster|date=26 October 2024 |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc.}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaywalker|title=Definition of Jaywalker by Merriam-Webster|date=28 August 2024 |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc.}} The term began to imply recklessness or impertinent behavior as the convention became established.{{OED|jay-walker}}
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.{{cite news|title=Writer lobbies for new word to describe jays|url=http://www.vancourier.com/Writer-lobbies-for-new-word-to-describe-jays-1.776734/|access-date=January 2, 2014|newspaper=Vancouver Courier|date=January 2, 2014}}{{cite news|title=British Ornithologists' Union: What say ye countrymen to a jabber of jays?|url=http://www.bou.org.uk/what-say-ye-countrymen-to-a-jabber-of-jays/#comments/|access-date=January 6, 2014|journal=Community News|date=January 6, 2014}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Cite web|url=https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?mediaType=video&taxonCode=blujay|title=Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata videos|website=The Internet Bird Collection + The Macaulay Library}}
- {{Wikisource-inline|list=
- {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Jay |short=x |noicon=x}}
- {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Jays |short=x |noicon=x}}
- {{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Jay |short=x |noicon=x}}
- {{Cite EB1911 |last=Newton |first=Alfred |author-link=Alfred Newton |wstitle=Jay |short=x |noicon=x}}
- {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Jay|year=1905 |short=x |noicon=x}}
- {{Cite EB9 |last=Newton |first=Alfred |author-link=Alfred Newton |wstitle=Jay |volume=13 |short=x |noicon=x}}
}}
{{Corvidae}}