Species: Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus
Pinyon Jay
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Corvidae
Genus
Gymnorhinus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Chara Piñonera - Geai des pinèdes
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Corvidae - Gymnorhinus
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false - Does not migrate, but may wander long distances in search of food when seed crop is low (Ryser 1985). Flocks may also move altitudinally in search of food.
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Eats pinyon and other pine seeds, berries, small seeds, and grain. Also insects (larvae, nymphs, and adults); beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, etc. May eat bird eggs, hatchlings. Communally caches large numbers of seeds.
Reproduction Comments
Nests when and where adequate numbers of pine seeds are available. Clutch size is 3-6 (usually 3-4). Incubation, by female (fed by male), lasts 15-17 days. Young are tended by both adults (and sometimes by young of previous nestings), leave nest in about 3 weeks (Harrison 1978). Adults remain paired throughout the year. Breeds in loose scattered colonies. In Arizona, pair bonds apparently monogamous, perennial, lasted average of 2.5 years; males initiated breeding at average age of 2 years, females at 1.6 years; deserted females incapable of rearing offspring (Marzluff and Balda 1988).
Ecology Comments
Complex social organization; gregarious. Lives in loose flocks of multiple breeding pairs and their offspring from previous nesting seasons. The flock has an established home range but may wander to other areas in search of food. During nesting season flocks of yearlings may form. Nesting success often is low due to predation or severe weather.
Length
27
Weight
103
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-12-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-12-02
Other Status
VU - Vulnerable
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AZ=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.ID=S1&US.MT=S3&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S3&US.NV=S3&US.NM=S3&US.OK=S2&US.OR=S3&US.SD=S4&US.TX=__&US.UT=S4&US.WA=__&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Resident: central Oregon, east-central Montana, western South Dakota, south to northern Baja California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Oklahoma. Occurs irregularly to southern Washington, northern Idaho, southwestern Saskatchewan, throughout Great Basin, Nebraska, Kansas, central Texas, and northern mainland of Mexico (Terres 1980).