Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)
- HABITAT - The Canada Jay (a.k.a. Grey Jay) is found in boreal forests of North America north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. Canada Jays are year-round residents throughout their range.
- DIET - Canada Jays eat a variety of foods including nsects and spiders, berries, the occasional small mammal or amphibian, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings, and fungi.
- FACTS - The Canada Jay is one of the few birds that will accept food by hand. Being member of the corvid family (along with crows, ravens and blue jays), they are very intelligent birds. They have figured out that humans are a great source of food and have been hanging around them for centuries. Today, the will visit campsites where they accept handouts or steal food when they get a chance.
- The Canada Jay stores large quantities of food for later use. It uses sticky saliva to glue small food items to tree branches above the height of the eventual snow line. This food storage behaviour may help them survive so far north throughout the winter. The Canada Jay has incredibly thick, fluffy plumage that it puffs up in cold weather, enveloping its legs and feet. Even its nostrils are covered with feathers.
Canada Jay GALLERY
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