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Adorned in shades of peridot green, sapphire blue, and onyx black, the Green Jay is a jewel-toned wonder with a voice as loud as its color palette. Their range is split over two regions, one from southern Texas to northern Belize and a second along the Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia. Green Jays often forage in family flocks where their noisy, rasping chatter helps ward off predators and keep their colorful kin together.
This episode is sponsored by Bruce Heyne, in thanks to all those who steward the parks, refuges, and nature preserves that support birds — especially in Deep South Texas where Green Jays thrive.
BirdNote®
Green Jay
Written by Ariana Remmel
This is BirdNote.
[Green Jay flock calls]
Adorned in shades of peridot green, sapphire blue, and onyx black, the Green Jay is a jewel-toned wonder with a voice as loud as its color palette.
[Green Jay flock calls]
These brilliant jays thrive in woodlands and tropical forests. They can be found in North and Central America from southern Texas to northern Belize. A second population lives in South America along the Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia.
Like Blue Jays, crows, and other corvids, Green Jays are clever, adventurous eaters, happy to grab a bite from a bird feeder, berry bush or bug-riddled brush pile. Green Jays even use sticks to pry open tree bark in search of tasty insects, a rare skill among songbirds.
[Green Jay calling]
Green Jays often travel in family flocks that include a breeding pair, recently fledged young, and last year's juveniles. The jays' noisy, rasping chatter helps ward off predators and keep their colorful kin together. Listen carefully for their clangorous calls for a chance to glimpse these gems yourself!
[Green Jay calling]
For BirdNote, I'm Michael Stein.
This episode is sponsored by Bruce Heyne, in thanks to all those who steward the parks, refuges, and nature preserves that support birds — especially in Deep South Texas where Green Jays thrive.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Green Jay ML105549 recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller. Green Jay ML74991161 recorded by David McQuade.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote June 2025
Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# GRJA-02-2025-06-16 GRJA-02
Reference:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Jay
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/grnjay/cur/introduction
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/green-jay
https://abcbirds.org/bird/green-jay/
Michael Stein
Narrator
Ariana Remmel
WriterSights & Sounds
