A Bird I Never Knew

(Green Jay)

Midwesterners and east coasters are used to seeing their Blue Jays, well, blue. On the west coast, we enjoy Stellar, Scrub, and Pinyon Jays, again, all in varied patterns of blue. In our neck of the woods, the Stellar Jay is the standout with a black crested head and an iridescent blue body. Stunning. Until our sojourn to the very southern tip of Texas, I thought I had my jays covered.

Then this guy, in a group of six or seven, popped up. The Green Jay. Wow! It’s found from just north of the Rio Grande River to north-central Honduras. A second group, differentiated by more white on the nape, a crest of feathers at the base of the upper beak and striking yellow irises, lives in Columbia and Venezuela and can also be found through eastern Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.  Despite its glaring (no pun intended) yellow irises, this variety goes by the the same moniker, Green Jay. Spanish speakers call it Chara Verde, which has a nice sound to my ear. These two varieties may be different species but ornithologists haven’t made that call yet.

Green Jays have large broods and the immatures stay with their parents for a year, helping to defend their family. When mom and dad lay their next clutch of eggs, it’s sayonara to the yearlings as they disperse and start their own noisy broods.

What a sight. Really. What a sight.