Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Tufted Jay

Cyanocorax dickeyi

The Tufted Jay, a member of the crow family Corvidae, is a strikingly large bird with a notable dark crest adorning its head. It boasts a purplish-blue back, wings, and face, accented with a white spot above the eye and on the cheek. The bird's underside is white, and its tail features a partial white coloration. The Tufted Jay's bright yellow irises stand out against its black beak and legs.

Identification Tips

Adult Tufted Jays have a black crest that fades to dark blue at the base, with white spots above the eyes and white cheeks. Their purplish-blue plumage extends partway down the tail, transitioning to white. Juveniles can be identified by their shorter crests, absence of the white eye spot, bright blue cheeks, and brown irises. Males are slightly larger than females, but there is no sexual dimorphism in plumage.

Habitat

This bird resides in pine-oak forests, often remaining aloft in the canopy. It is rarely seen on the ground, preferring the treetops and forest cover.

Distribution

Endemic to Mexico, the Tufted Jay is found exclusively within a small area of the Sierra Madre Occidental, spanning parts of Sinaloa, Durango, and Nayarit. It typically inhabits elevations between 1,500 and 2,000 meters but can range from 1,200 to 2,500 meters.

Behaviour

The Tufted Jay is a sociable creature, living in flocks that can include a breeding pair, secondary adults, and juveniles. These flocks may persist across generations. The bird is known for its "buoyant" flight, characterized by constant wing flapping.

Song & Calls

The Tufted Jay's repertoire includes a rapid, four-note call often transcribed as "rak," "chuck," or "chen." It also mimics the calls of other birds, such as the blue mockingbird and the great-tailed grackle. During the breeding season, pairs engage in a duet call, a unique vocalization that strengthens their bond.

Breeding

Breeding season commences in late March, with nests built cooperatively by the flock. The female lays a clutch of two to five olive-colored eggs speckled with brown. The incubation period lasts 18-19 days, and the altricial hatchlings remain in the nest for about 24 days.

Similar Species

The Tufted Jay can be confused with the Black-throated Magpie-Jay, which is bluer with a larger crest and longer tail. It also resembles the White-tailed Jay, though their ranges do not overlap.

Diet and Feeding

The diet is primarily berries, fruit, and insects such as katydids. The bird forages in flocks, using various techniques to access food and occasionally caching it for later consumption.

Conservation Status

The Tufted Jay is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN. With an estimated population of 10,000–20,000 mature individuals, the species faces threats from habitat destruction due to agriculture, logging, narcotic cultivation, and forest fires. Climate change and human activities also pose significant risks to its survival.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Tufted Jays on Birda

Sightings
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Ignacio Loera
Ignacio Loera
21 Jun 2023 - 8:54pm
Mexico

More Crows, Jays

A photo of a California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica)

California Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma californica
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Birdafan
Ideal Birdwatch Companion
Simply adds to the enjoyment of my birdwatching and helps me record what I’ve seen.
Paul F
Very good database
Highly recommend. It great that this app shows you male Vs female variations when posting. Very good database I'm really impressed.
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
Patricia L
Very encouraging birding app
Easy to use, fun to see progress and encouraging to receive feedback from other users.
Hip An
Fantastic
Really enjoying Birda where I live i have a lot of Red kites really hard to photograph but I can video are you planning some place on the app where us Birda can post vids🦉🦅
Abi.M
Awesome App
I really enjoy using this app! It is such a friendly community of bird-lovers who are happy to help if I need ID advice. It’s been great motivation to get outdoors and go birding more! 10/10 😍😍
Emcil24
A Friendly Place
I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.
Marlster24
Recommend for any bird watcher
Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😃
Alex J
Friendly and helps to identify birds
Great birding app, good for logging your sightings, also has nice species guide. I'm enjoying the social aspect more than I expected, everyone seems friendly and helps to identify unknown birds. Good mix of newbies and experienced users.
778
Great bird recording
For a while I’ve been trying to find an app to easily record bird lists and day out and struggled to find one that I like. Birda is great for this, straightforward and a great community!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.