| Jay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Superfamily: | Corvoidea |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genera | |
Jays are aparaphyletic grouping ofpasserinebirds within thefamilyCorvidae. Although the term "jay"carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually have colorful feathers and are quite noisy. These superificial characteristics set them apart from most other corvids such ascrows,ravens,jackdaws,rooks andmagpies, which are larger and have darker plumage. Many so-called "jays" are genetically closer to these other corvids than other jays, however.
Jays are not amonophyletic group. Anatomical and molecular evidence indicates they can be divided into aNew World and anOld World lineage (the latter including theground jays and thepiapiac), while the grey jays of the genusPerisoreus form a group of their own.[1] Theblack magpies, formerly believed to be related to jays, are classified astreepies.
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
.jpg) | GarrulusBrisson, 1760 |
|
 | PodocesFischer von Waldheim, 1821 - Ground jays |
|
 | PtilostomusSwainson, 1837 |
|
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
 | PerisoreusBonaparte, 1831 - Grey jays |
|
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
 | AphelocomaCabanis, 1851 - Scrub-jays |
|
 | GymnorhinusWied-Neuwied, 1841 |
|
_(1547)_-_Relic38.jpg) | CyanocittaStrickland, 1845 |
|
 | CyanocoraxF. Boie, 1826 |
|
 | CyanolycaCabanis, 1851 |
|
The wordjay has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning a person who chatters impertinently.[2][3]
The termjaywalking was coined in the first decade of the 1900s to label persons crossing a busy street carelessly and becoming a traffic hazard.[4] The term began to imply recklessness or impertinent behavior as the convention became established.[5]
In January 2014, Canadian authorRobert Joseph Greene embarked on a lobbying campaign among ornithologists in Europe and North America to get Merriam-Websters Dictionary to have a "Jabber of Jays" as an official term under bird groups.[6][7]
An overly talkative person; a chatterbox.
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